Ghost of Me
by biteoutoflife
Summary: Based on Tonya Hurley's "Ghostgirl". Fang dies, and learns that "death" wasn't anything like he expected. Now he's a ghost. The problem? No one can see or hear him. To make it worse, he must communicate that he can be saved or else he'll die... for good
1. Prologue

Prologue

I always knew I was going to die. I just didn't expect death to be like this.

"_Max!" I shouted as I saw the M-geek raise his hand-turned-Glock, aiming directly for Max's chest. She was wrapped up with another in the air, so much that she didn't see the one on the ground. None of them did. Except for me. I had no time to think, only to react. I worked the muscles in my wings at a capacity I'd never thought possible, bolting to save the one person I'd loved more than anyone else in my life. Just as I was inches away we all heard the gun crack, the bullet whizzing through the air. Max turned toward the sound after dispatching her combatant and gasped as the impact of my body forced her from where she was hovering, leaving me where she previously was. _

_The primary pain wave came in the moments after the bullet drove into my chest. My breath caught it my throat as I felt my wings flap incessantly to catch myself, but they were frantic and weak, and I was plummeting quickly. Each inhale and exhale was pained and I clutched at where my heart was, feeling the warm liquid oozing from it. This was it. I couldn't believe this was how it was going to end. I was freefalling to my demise, all because I sacrificed myself for Max. My lips involuntarily curled into a smile, knowing that she was going to live. She would take care of the flock. They would save the world without me. _

_But the only thing worse than the agony coming from my heart was the ache that was from the same spot, knowing that I would never be able to grow old with her. To watch her in her glory as she did what she was created to do. It was a sad outlook, but as long as she could complete that mission, dying was worth it._

"_I love you, Max," I whispered moments before I hit the unforgiving earth. Then everything went black._

Yeah, I'm sure that's how you _expected_ my death to be. Believe me, I wish it would have been that noble, to go out in a blaze of glory. To know that Max and the Flock was safe. In reality, I had no idea what their fate was. My death was so sudden, I didn't even know if it was a murder or an accident or even if it was just my expiration date kicking in. My hair did cover most of my neck since it'd been growing out from our time in New York. No one would have known.

Let me tell you what really happened.

_We returned from our mission/vacation in Hawaii, waiting for the next journey to come to our attention from the Voice or CSM or just some place we traveled through. It was kind of tedious, but also invigorating to be back in the sky again. I missed the feeling of the wind passing through my secondary's, it blowing through each individual strand of hair. There was nothing like the high of flying, except maybe making out with Max._

_She made the decision that it was time to take a break, mostly for the younger kids' sake. I wanted to survey the land. I told Max that I'd be back and then I disappeared into the trees. __There was a river about two hundred feet into the thicket. I watched from the ground as hawks circled overhead ominously. Part of me just wanted to kick back and watch them, but another part wanted me to join in their formation. I considered both options, and after remembering the time with the hawks at the cave where Nudge and I had stayed at, I decided to give it a try. The Flock would see me anyway, so they would probably join me once they were done resting._

_I prepared myself for take off, flapping my wings experimentally to work the kinks out, and then started running. Right when I was about to jump, a sharp pain exploded in between my wings. I didn't have time to cry out or call for help. It felt like someone ran a match over my back, and instead of lighting the stick it ignited my body in flames. The pain was excruciating, and before I knew it my world went black._

So there you go, folks. The Flock didn't know that I died. No one saw it coming. I bet the readers didn't see something like that coming, either. Yeah, I'd read my fair share of fanficitons that viewers would send me over my blog, occasionally ones of either Max or me dying. Usually they were like the first scenario I played out, but never like the reality. It figures that the great Fang would die the most bizarre, unorthodox death, and I don't even know what it was!

Despite my exit on life, I was sort of afraid of the unknown. I'd heard people talk of heaven and hell, but I didn't really know if they existed. I figured I was a fairly decent person. Sure, I'd killed Erasers and maniacal scientists and robots, but in my book I didn't really count any of those as people. Besides, a mutant bird kid has gotta do whatever he can to survive!

But that thought suddenly made me realize that it was over. There would be no more adventures for me, no more fun or exciting memories to create with the Flock. Who would be there to protect them? Who would be there for Max when she finds out? Max. It sent a jolt through me, whatever I was now. I didn't know what happened when you died. Even though I was dead, it didn't take away my feelings for her, the fact that I loved her. I would never be able to tell her that. That suddenly made me very pissed off. My life was over, and I was certain it would seem like that for her, too. She'd be devastated, and there was nothing I could do for her now.

Well this sucked.

I always thought that death was the end, so you can imagine how shocked I was when I woke up.

* * *

**I'm basically doing this while I'm getting my inspiration and creativity working again. To everyone who read "Not so Normal", I'm not stopping with that story. I just needed a short break. I'm gonna spend the weekend writing this and the other idea I mentioned in the author's note and read MR all over again. So click the lovely button below and tell me what you think of this one! I promise it will get better when the story gets going!**

**--biteoutoflife--**


	2. Chapter 1 Questions

Chapter 1 - Questions

I was in a state of consciousness that was stuck between two phases, kind of like when you aren't fully asleep and not awake either. The stage I was in now was unknown to me, something I'd never experienced before. It was sort of like sleeping, except without perception of time. I could have been asleep for two seconds or two thousand years. I would never know. Was I drugged? Would I ever get out of this state? If this was death, was there a return policy I could have bought to trade this in so I could live again?

Suddenly I was very aware of my surroundings, even though my eyes were closed. A smooth sheet of metal was below me and cool air wafted above me. There was the occasional clicking of a door opening and closing, but no footsteps were heard to account for the noise. I had no idea where I was, or if I could even open my eyes. I stuffed any preconceived ideas of seeing pearly gates or pits of raging fire. Just because everyone _thought_ that's what you'd see when you died, doesn't mean that it had to be true. Okay, this was it… just open your eyes.

My eyelids shot open as I critically scanned my surroundings. Gray tiles lined the ceiling directly above me. Was I in a room? Was this a hospital morgue? If so, where were the blinding lights, the clear smell of antiseptic furnishings? My body lurched up from the waist as I took inventory of where I was, planning for any route of escape. The problem was there wasn't anything in the room except for empty walls and a single door straight ahead.

Okaaaay… where was I? Was this like a waiting room for death? What was I waiting for? Maybe God was on the other side of the door… or Satan. Had this been the door I'd heard earlier, but that was a stupid thought since it was the only one here. There weren't even windows on the walls.

I was sitting on a metal bedspread, minus a mattress, that was somehow neither comfy nor uncomfortable. It was just… there. I suddenly realized that despite the cold air, it didn't feel good or bad. There was no variation; everything was… perfect? No, not the right word. Everything was just the way that it was. That's the only way I could really describe it.

I hopped off the cot and explored the empty room. The walls were lined with brown carpet, which was odd, but then again everything about the place was strange. Maybe the room was specially prepared with no windows so I couldn't fly away. How quaint. I should feel special.

Shaking my head, I walked to the lone door. It was standard, brown wood, silver knob. It matched the room, I noted wryly. Everything was plain, but again it didn't feel wrong or right. This place was really starting to get on my nerves. My eyes shot around frantically as I felt myself wind up tighter and tighter. I didn't like the feel of this place. It was like a slightly better lab. The room wasn't small, but I was feeling claustrophobic. There was no way out… except for the door.

I took in a deep breath. _Stay cool, Fang_, I told myself. _No need to get worked up._ I reached out and touched the knob, getting used to the now-familiar sensation of objects having no particular pleasing or disagreeable touch or smell or any other sense you could think of. The knob twisted and clicked open, pushing outward automatically. Okay, good sign. I went to open in completely when something odd happened. My hand wasn't on the knob anymore, but it was going _through_ the handle.

Oh. My. God.

Shit.

Maybe this proved that I was dead.

I tried pulling my hand out from the door, but it was stuck. Just lovely, isn't it? I pulled and tugged, grounding my feet hard into the floor, attempting to dislodge it with all my might. That was when the door wrenched open from the other side, freeing my hand, and making me fall backwards on my ass.

The impact didn't hurt, but I stared at my hand in shock. How did it go through a door? It didn't look any different, still solid, still covered by my olive-toned skin. I looked up at whoever opened the door and stifled a gasp. Okay, if I didn't believe I was dead before, I should now. The man in the entrance was dressed in a white business suit and had white hair and beard.

"God?" I asked, half sarcastic and half wondering.

"Oh, good Fang, you're up."

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffie and the chapter's shortness. I wanted this chapter out, but I think most of them in this story will be short. Sooo, here's some news to the fans of my stories. I might start working on the next chapter of 'Not so Normal' today! I have an idea (finally)! Hahaha but anyway, I also started the other story I was thinking of writing, but the problem is that I'm not sure whether it should be rated T or M, not for romance but because it's kind of gory and cruel. If anyone wants to help me with deciding, let me know in your review and I can give you a sneak peek at the new story!**

**Also, I'm closing the poll on my profile and am putting up a general question one to get to know my readers a little better. So please stop by and put in your response!**

**--biteoutoflife--**


	3. Chapter 2 Answers

Chapter 2 – Answers

Normally fear was something that I experienced when Nudge offered to pick outfits out for each member of the Flock, but this was on a complete level of its own. Let's give a hand to death, everyone! It even makes _me_ afraid, and that's saying something. I gulped audibly as I looked up into the face of God, who was watching me with mild curiosity.

"Well, Fang, are you going to get up any time soon or are you gonna sit on your butt all day?" he asked in a timeless voice, that somehow sounded youthful but wise.

I shook my head and scrambled to my feet, straightening my dark clothing to make a good appearance. Hey, if you were face-to-face with a celestial being, you'd be fixing yourself, too. "Are… uh, are you God?" I wondered, feeling a little tongue-tied.

He laughed a boisterous, engaging laugh that would put a smile on anyone's face. Well, except for me, of course, but it did ease my fears. He shook his head animatedly. "No, no, I'm not God," he said with some shock. His eyes darted around momentarily, then wandered down to his attire and he laughed again. Smacking his forehead, he added, "Oh, I see why you thought that. It's the outfit. Sorry to confuse you, but it's our uniform."

Huh? Now I was lost.

"I'm Zeke, your Death Guide."

I swear, for the first time in my life, I was seriously terrified. This beat the time when I thought Max wouldn't return when she went out into the dark ocean to search for Angel, or when she was attacked by the octopus. My eyes widened in disbelief and my mouth fell slack. What was the Flock gonna think? Did they already know that I died? How was Max going to take it? I always imagined being there to comfort her in a situation like this, but now she would never have me to be her support anymore. Why was death so cruel that it still let me hold on to my love for her? My head slunk down in dejection.

So I _was_ dead.

"Actually, _you_aren't quite dead." My head shot up as my hopes rose. I wasn't dead? Then why was he my Death Guide? Where am I anyway? "You're in the basement of an office building that isn't used, so we dead people occupy it to train our incoming expirees. And you're special because you haven't technically died."

…

Than what was I? How did he know what I was thinking?

He laughed, lightly this time. "You see, all dead people can read each other's minds. You aren't technically dead, so that's why you aren't able to." Oh great, another mind reader I have to deal with. This is just lovely.

"Than if I'm not dead, but I'm not living, then what am I?" I had to ask, even if I didn't really want to know the answer.

"You are a spirit, for right now, or what we refer to as a ghost. You've been separated from your body. In the past I've seen it happen to people who needed to learn a lesson, like Ebenezer Scrooge, people in near-death experiences, like those guys who've written books on death – they were astounded by how boring this was so they made up the stories of seeing heaven and hell the way you imagine it – and, in your case, we believe it had something to do with a glitch in your design."

"You mean like when I was experimented on, right?" A glitch in my design? Did the other Flock members have it, too? So I was freak?

"Yes, it deals with the experiment. Something with an expiration date?" I stared at him blankly and nodded. Oh boy, so even if I wasn't really dead, I was going to die soon anyway. "No, actually, your expiration date was programmed incorrectly. It went off sooner than the scientists had originally planned, and you see, that doesn't go over very well with the Death Council. They maintain a strict order of when everyone is supposed to die, and they weren't prepared for your sudden departure. So that's why you've been given a second chance."

"A second chance? I can live again? How do I do it?!?" That was probably the first time in my life I spoke with emotion. This was fantastic! I can live! I can see everyone again. I could spend more time with Max… I didn't want to think about that with Zeke around, seeing as he'd read my thoughts of her. That would be embarrassing.

"Yes, a second chance. With the other guys I mentioned before, it was because they either died before they were ready, too, like the authors, or in Scrooge's case to improve in life."

"So Scrooge was a real person?"

He nodded. "Crazy people claimed that he wasn't alive and turned his life into a story, just so people would stop bugging him about what death was like."

"Oh." That was interesting knowing.

"And all the ghosts that appeared to him were actually Death Guides. Once he learned his lesson, he was allowed to live life the way he should be. You, on the other hand, have a completely different task ahead of you."

"And that would be…" Why was he torturing me like this? I had to know how I could live so I could be with Max again.

"You have to reunite your spirit with your body."

I looked at him like he'd just said that to make an omelet you need eggs. "That's it? That's all I have to do?" Jeez, what was I standing around waiting for. I tried to sidestep Zeke through the open door but he stuck his arm out to block me.

"Wait, it's not that easy. First you have to find your body again, which I might add is a hard task in itself if you don't know where your body was."

"Well, let me go so I can look for it, at least." I pushed at his arm but it wouldn't budge. For an old guy, he was strong.

He shook his head. "Do you even know where you are now, Fang?" he pointed out. I hated to say that he was right. Where was I? He said we were in the basement of an office building, but we could be in Europe or Africa or, I shudder to think of it, Antarctica for all I knew. Plus, I wasn't even paying attention to where the Flock was when we landed. I knew it was in the Midwest, but it was a pretty big territory to cover.

"How long do I have to find it?" I asked.

"Two days. And if you don't, than the Council has no choice but to make you dead… permanently. But until then, I have two days to introduce you to the Dead lifestyle. Welcome to your training, Fang. You have a lot to learn." He reached into his blazer and pulled out a thin yellow book and handed it to me. I looked at it and gawked. _Death for Dummies _was the title.

"That will be your guide while you're here," he said as I looked at him with my mouth still hanging open. "Whether that is two days or for eternity. Until then, I must take you to your first lesson in Death at what we call our Dead School."

School? I was dead and I had to go to school? What the fuck?

This was going to be a long two days.

* * *

**More on the news front to all you Not So Normal fans. I have officially started Chapter 24 (insert cheers). I don't have a guaranteed release date, but I'd say either tonight or tomorrow, being generous. I don't know for sure, but be sure to check anyway. Also I think I'm gonna be rating my other story T just because I think most the people who check out the M page want smut/sex. You get the picture. I don't have any release date set for that one either, and it still doesn't have a title.**

**iBanana, thanks for the advice! Mo, this had some explaining in it, but I know it's not everything. More will be revealed in the chapters to come. Sorry if this was a little confusing cause I was in a weird mood when I wrote this yesterday. Karebear77, before you kill me, there are several things I want to do in life before that happens (ie college, marriage, job, first home, etc.), but if you feel the need to do it anyway, we can work out a plan. ;) fangfan5, more on that will come later. Sorry to keep everyone waiting about that. Rukiwolff95, thank you vereh much. :P Kina Kalamari, maybe I posted the prologue before you subscribed to me? Just guessing, I don't know if that's true. Also, important notice, if anyone has any specific questions you want answered, leave them in your review and I'll try to incorporate them in the next chapter or two.**

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!**

**--biteoutoflife--**


	4. Chapter 3 Altercation

Chapter 3 – Altercation

"You were just in the recuperating room," Zeke explained as he gave me the general tour of the basement. It was shaped like the letter 'U', with an elevator at the loop in the hallway. Two doors lined the wall across it – the offices – and the adjoining halls perpendicular to the base each had five rooms. At the far end of one of the halls was a small door, the room where I had been. "That's where we take all the new expirees to recover from the shock of separating from their bodies. It can take anywhere from seconds to months for someone to be completely healed from it, depending on the severity of their trauma."

I paused by the elevator and shot him a terse look. "How long have I been out for? I don't want to waste my time here learning about death. I want to get back to my Flock."

"Relax," he soothed. "From the time your spirit arrived until now, it's been approximately ten minutes. Right now your Flock is just beginning to notice that you're gone."

"Ten minutes?" It definitely felt a lot longer than that. I could have been out for years for all I knew.

He nodded impatiently. "Yes, yes, and if we don't hurry along you'll be late for your first class at Dead School. Usually all first-timers start in a beginner course, but since your stay might be short, the Council thought you should start with the first class that was available when you woke up."

"And that would be…?" I was getting tired of the explanation. As soon as I could, I was busting out of this place. Even though the hall wasn't congested or small, I was feeling twitchy. There were no windows, no exit doors… the only escape was the elevator, which apparently was programmed to never come down to the basement. How did the dead people get out of here? Did they live in classrooms? Was I meant to be stuck down here for eternity, without even getting a chance to look for Max and the Flock? Or more importantly, _my body._

"Your first class is Dead Skills," he said with a sparkle in his eyes. "That was my personal favorite when I was enrolled in Dead School. There is so much you can learn about what abilities you'll develop… well, in your case possibly develop. Some powers are for the fully dead, but I'm sure you'll notice that some will work for you."

"That's why my hand went through the door? It was a Dead Skill?"

"Yes, and there are others you'll learn about, too." His buoyant expression changed to something more serious as his bright, wise eyes bore into mine. "If I were you, I'd really pay attention in class. You might learn something useful." He suddenly winked, returning to his usual state. "Okay, let me show you to the class before you're late!"

What had transpired there was something I knew I couldn't ignore. He'd heard my thoughts and was trying to help me find my body. Besides, what was one less dead person to them when people died all the time? I was surprised the recovery room didn't resemble more of a toy chest, with tons of characters piled on top of each other, each begging to be played with. They could live without me.

That was a joke. Get it?

I flipped through the pages of _Death for Dummies_ while Zeke ushered me to my classroom. My eyes widened fractionally at the chapter titles as I scanned the table of contents. _Introduction to Death. What's Next? Living the Dead Life. Dead Skills. _Yeah, I was sure this book would _totally _ease the fears of any thantophobic **(A/N a person who is afraid of death).** This was even freaking _me_ out, so you know it's pretty damn scary.

We stopped outside a door with an undertone of voices murmuring from the other side. I shot him a glance that said 'help me out here', but he only smirked. "Go on, this is Dead Skills. Class begins in a couple minutes."

I gripped the knob and turned, but it didn't budge. I raised an eyebrow at him. "It's locked," I pointed out.

He looked at me like I'd just said that the sky being blue was a big revelation. "Well, did you expect them to be kept open once the company closed the basement wing?"

I stared at him for a moment. "Then how do we get—" I didn't need to say any more as I thought about it. Oh.

"Yes, oh. We walk through the door."

"… and if I get stuck?"

"It takes practice. You spirit isn't used to being free from the rules of science. The more time you spend on perfecting your skills, the easier they'll come to you. Now come on, I'll help you through." He stepped through the door, and I watched in shock and amazement as his body completely passed to the other side. I inhaled deeply and straightened my shoulders. Touching it experimentally, feeling the wood on my fingertips, I pushed against it. And then I sort of willed myself to go through and I saw my hand disappear into the door. My arm followed and, seeing my success, jumped through the rest of the way.

It was an unusual feeling, not being solid anymore. I can't really describe the sensation of walking through objects, except it's kind of like passing through water without getting wet. My body fell out to the other side and Zeke steadied me before I could fall over. He nodded in approval. "Good job. Before you know it you'll be a pro."

"I'd rather not stick around long enough to find out," I muttered.

The noise that I'd heard before was suddenly cut off. I felt eyes looking at me from all over, and I lifted my head to see a classroom of about twenty teenagers staring at me from various degrees of shock, humor, and even disgust. Placing my best bored expression on my face, I looked back at Zeke. He understood what I wanted.

"Right, students!" He clapped his hands together and everyone turned their attention to him. "I'd like to introduce a new addition to class. This is Fang."

"Hi, Fang," the students replied in a monotonous, mechanical tone. Everyone was sitting in the perfectly set rows of five by six chairs, all the seats filled from the front with a few empty in the back.

"You can pick any seat you want," Zeke offered, and I nodded in response. I walked down the row closest to me since it was the least filled, heading for a seat in the back row. Some kids turned to watch me while I passed by and one of them gasped. I whirled to look at a small girl with short blond hair that looked appalled.

"Oh, my God! You have wings!" she announced. Everyone around stood up to get a better look. I tucked my wings tightly against my spine, hoping no one would ask me to show them.

"Hey, I remember you from the news," a boy said with wide, excited eyes. He spoke with a Southern accent. "You guys were at the Cowboys game. How'd you die, man?"

"Cool, wings! Show them!"

"What the hell? What kind of freak has wings?"

Everyone turned to look at the person who'd said the last comment. He was tall, but not as tall as I was, with short curly brown hair. He looked like the athletic type – he was wearing a track uniform – and had dark brown, hate-filled eyes. I raised a brow at him, daring him to set me off.

But like a good boy, he didn't say anything else.

"Don't mind him," the Southern boy said to me. "Derrick's a little angry that he never found out the results of his track meet. He got hit in a freak javelin accident and died."

"Don't tell him that," Derrick spat. "This place is for dead _humans_, not dead _mutants. _I don't care how special you were when you were alive, but now you're dead. So take your winged-ass out of here and go to the introductory class like the rest of us had to."

I approached him, giving him the most dark, threatening glance I could muster up. He took a few steps back, tensing up considerably.

"Fang, Derrick, settle down," Zeke ordered. Deciding to be the 'bigger man', I backed off, but not without giving Derrick another glance that said I would gladly rip his head off. He looked back at me with a look that was just as sinister. I sat down as far away from him as I could.

"Okay, everyone let's begin the lesson," Zeke went on.

I looked at him in confusion. He was my Death Guide and my teacher? Oh, jeez.

* * *

**So a special thanks goes out to HecticWaterSprings546 for nominating this story in the MR FanFiction Awards for Best Parody!! I feel so honored, especially since I just started this story. So now I have two stories in there. :P Ahh, I'm excited!! hahaha I probably won't win anything but it means a lot that everyone likes the stories.**

**Just some reminders: vote on the poll on my profile in case you haven't already! Rock seems to be winning so far. :P Also, NSN fans, the next chapter should be out either today or tomorrow. Still not completely back to normal, but I'm getting there. :D If anyone here hasn't read Not So Normal, please do!! It will make me very happy! Also, I looked up what the word was for a person who has a fear of death, and then I felt kind of stupid for not knowing it since I read William Cullen Bryant's "Thanatopsis" which means "seeing death". It's an awesome poem, so you should check that out too!**

**Please review!!!!!!**

**--biteoutoflife--**


	5. Chapter 4 Teleportation

Chapter 4 - Teleportation

"Would anyone care to recapitulate what we have learned for Fang?" Zeke asked in his newest voice – his I'm-teacher-and-everyone-should-listen-_now_ voice. It wasn't something any of us could ignore. "There are several important Skills he missed that I feel he should at least hear about."

A student raised their hand and Zeke acknowledged that person. "Mind reading is the first ability a Dead person notices. There really is no need for talking when you know each other's true thoughts."

"Yes!" Zeke crowed with excitement. He turned his astute gaze back to the class. "What else?"

"We can walk through walls since we technically aren't physical beings like we used to be; we're spirits," a girl called out.

"More," he ordered.

"Since gravity doesn't affect us, we can sorta fly, even though it's more like floating."

_Well, there goes my need for wings, _I thought sourly. I mean, why have them in death if you don't need them? When you die, does your spirit appear similar to how you looked when you departed or how you were born? In my case, since I still had my wings, it proved either the first point was true or that I was hatched from an egg. That would be a suckish realization, especially since I always used to tease Max about that.

My death guide nodded eagerly. "Who remembers the last power we talked about?"

Derrick half-smiled, which ended up looking more like a sneer. "Possession. Our spirits can take over someone else's body if they are willing to let us. Allows us live again for a while." Even though his voice was haughty, it did take an edge of solemnity to it.

"Very good, Derrick," Zeke approved. "I hope you were paying attention, Fang. We have to use our time effectively if we want to get through today's lesson." He winked, and I nodded once curtly, aware that I should actually listen. Unlike the time when I was in school at Virginia. Seriously, where were you supposed to use the stuff they taught in real life? Like _everyone, _especially mutant bird-kids, will be writing papers and doing math equations and learning about the Medieval Ages later on in life.

Unlike regular school, Dead School actually seemed kind of important.

"Everyone open your _Death for Dummies _book to page 56. As some of you may have read ahead, you will have learned about the basics of this new Skill that I'm going to teach. It's by far the coolest of all the abilities we get: _teleportaaaatioooon_." He spoke the last word in a sort of creepy, spector-like tone. The class oohed and ahed in approval. I rolled my eyes.

"Now, teleportation is one of the hardest Skills to master, and it is also difficult to use until you understand the basics. I'm sure you're all thinking, _oh my god we can go anywhere we want! _But it isn't that easy. The Skill is very specific, and if you aren't concise about what location you want to go to, it will take you to the closest thing it can conceive to your idea. Like say you want to go to London, England, but all you think of is the city's name, and you will teleport yourself to London, Ontario! You have to be _specific!"_

My eyes widened marginally, the tell-tale sign that I was shocked out of my mind. This was the answer to my problem! I could get back to the Flock, back to Max… I should probably pay attention before I get ahead of myself.

The Southern boy raised his hand, and Zeke gestured for him to speak. "How exactly does it work?" he asked in his Texas twang. "Do you have to say where you want to go out loud? Do you picture it in your mind?"

"Good question. Usually you can just think of the place you want to go, because imagining a picture might take you to wherever you saw that picture. Whether it was in a travel agency or a restaurant, you don't want to make that mistake. I have found through experience that it is a lot easier to teleport to a place if you have been there while you were living. So when you first begin, start with somewhere you are very familiar with, like your old home."

I'd never really had a place to call home, except for maybe our home in Colorado, but now it wasn't standing any more. We were constantly on the run, never safe anywhere. For the last year we didn't have a place where we could settle down, a place to call 'home'. Well, unless you considered the _School_ our home, if you have a twisted idea of what a home is.

"Now, to actually teleport from one place to another, you must center yourself and know exactly _where you want to go_. Then you just will yourself there and let your spirit free. It's a lot easier than it sounds. Now, I'll demonstrate. Is there anywhere in particular you want me to go?" He left the question hanging for anyone to answer.

"Paris!" one of the quiet girls shouted suddenly, and everyone turned on her with mouths hanging open in shock.

"Whoa, she said something," the guy in front of me murmured in disbelief. The looks on everyone's faces reminded me of a fish out of water - eyes wide, mouth agape. I resisted the urge to snicker. If they thought she was quiet, than they obviously hadn't spent enough time around me.

"Okay, Paris it is," Zeke said. His body went still, his arms clinging to his sides. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, like he was saying a prayer. Then, suddenly, he was gone. Only a puff of smoke was any indication that he had been there before. Everyone gasped and I nodded my head in appreciation. I was gonna have to learn this right away.

A few seconds later, Zeke reappeared where he had been standing with a baret on his head. It was like magic, but I'm sure some of you considered being able to blend in to your surrounds as magic, too. Again there was no lack of appreciation from the other students.

"So, before we begin practicing, are there any more questions?" he asked as he took off the stupid-looking hat to bow.

"What if you were somewhere but you don't know exactly where that was?" I asked, causing the awestruck students to silence immediately. "How would you go back there?"

"Would you care to explain further? Maybe this question would be able to apply to the others." His bright eyes gazed at me with attentiveness.

"I knew I was in the Midwest, but we really don't pay attention to state borders when we're flying." I heard a scowl to my right and I looked over to see Derrick's head quickly turn away from my direction. I ignored his unnecessary hatred of me. "We took a break and the last thing I saw before I passed out was a river. I need to get back there because that's where my body is." The students were silent, but I could feel their saddness at my reality - that I was able to return to living.

Zeke pursed his lips, considering my question. "The only real way I know for you to get back there is by trying to figure out what river you saw. If you can find any kind of name, or think of any place that was close to where you were at the time, than that will probably help get you back."

I needed to go immediately, and knowing that I could be back to my body in seconds was sparking some emotion in me I'd hardly ever felt. Excitement? That wasn't a feeling you're accustomed to if you're a mutant on the run. The only time I'd ever felt truly excited was on the submarine when Max had kissed me… Blinking to dispel the embarrassing thoughts around a room full of mind readers, I wished I had my laptop with me so I could look for rivers in the area. It was going to be hard to imagine locations in an area I hardly knew, much less have ever spent much time in.

"Okay, class, let's get to practice!" Zeke announced cheerily.

* * *

**Sorry for the short length. I wrote this while listening to Nightwish, and if people (*cough* cloudNrain *cough*) will learn anything about me, it will be that I'm easily distracted. I swear I have ADD. BTW, if anyone has time youtube the song "The Islander" by Nightwish. I promise you it is beautiful and lovely, and I just fall in love with Marco Hietala's voice every time he sings. *sighs* Although I have a fan-girl crush on Emppu. :D mwahaha**

**iBanana, I got the idea for a javelin accident from this one incident that actually happened (youtube "Tero Pitkamaki" and you'll see what I mean). Mo, Fang likes to keep it cool. B) He's not like Max. Haha. Fanglover, sure no problem. Once you have them up I'd love to check it out! Polodo, I wasn't referring to this story. In my other one (Not So Normal) I wrote two summaries for stories I had going through my head. One was Ghost of Me, and the other one (which I might possibly rate M) I've decided to put on hold until I'm done with this story. Thanks for the compliment. :)**

**More reminders: I have an idea for the next NSN chapter, so expect one out within the next couple days. Do the poll if you haven't. Thanks to Mo's idea, if anyone wants to broadcast to others about my story, please do. I'd love more viewers. And... uh, REVIEW!!!**

**--biteoutoflife--**


	6. Chapter 5 Flock

Chapter 5 – Flock

"No, we weren't that far north," I told Bobby, aka Southern Boy. We, along with a couple other Dead kids, were huddled over a makeshift map that they scribbled on a flyleaf in my _Death for Dummies_book. It wasn't a Van Gogh work, but it was good enough for me to get an idea of where I needed to go.

"How would you know?" he countered, pointing his finger at the scribbled Dakotas. "That's technically a part of the Midwest and it has tons of farms."

I shook my head. "Nah, I would have noticed a sudden switch in _temperature_. Besides, I have a built-in direction detector. We weren't anywhere near there." I pointed to the map again. "We were probably in Kansas or Missouri."

He nodded. "Well, ya'll gotta catch up soon or else we'll be seeing a lot more dead people around."

I snorted. There was no clock in the room — time doesn't matter when you're _dead_— so I had no idea how long I'd been in Dead Skills class. I really wanted to get a move on finding Max and the others. It would be hard to tell what they would do. Would they fan out and look for me? Would they stick together, thinking I got kidnapped? They wouldn't move on without me, even if they thought that I'd been attacked.

We'd spent a good amount of time practicing Teleportation, the other students mostly going to their dorm rooms (yeah, I know, they have _dorms_, where Dead people_ sleep_ in. Apparently coffins aren't roomy enough, but then again they aren't vampires). One girl disappeared and reappeared about two feet in front of where she had been. I, on the other hand, only teleported into the hallway because that was the simplest thing I could think of.

"Do you know how many rivers there are in Missouri? That doesn't even include the minor ones," Bobby pointed out, which caused me to grimace. He was probably right. When I blacked out I wasn't by any of the major rivers, like the size of the Mississippi or the Ohio, but one that wouldn't show up on a map.

That basically put me back to square one.

Most students had left already since Zeke had technically dismissed class. I was going to leave with them, but some of the Dead kids had been nice enough to help me with my search. Normally I wouldn't have wanted help from anyone, but I was "dead" now. There was so much to this life I didn't know yet. Hell, I'd only been dead for, what? Approximately two hours? I didn't know for sure, but I had to swallow a lot of pride and accept that I had no idea where to start. And that help came in the form of Dead kids giving me advice on Teleportation, Possession, and walking through walls. I was grateful, but also hoping I wouldn't have to use too much of these Skills any time soon.

The best part of all was that Derrick had finally wised up and decided it wasn't best to deal with me. Yeah, that's right, even dead I could still kick anyone's ass. As soon as class ended he disappeared, and never would be too soon before I saw him again. Then I thought about it. When I died again I might have to see him, but I was determined to give myself at least a few more years before that happened.

I was getting tired of soaking up information. Even in the "normal" world school hadn't been too interesting. I never understood what the younger kids saw in it, but then again maybe it was just their desire to interact with others their own age. Unlike them, all I really needed was the Flock, which was exactly why I needed to get back to them.

Rising from the desk I was sitting at, I walked over to the door and pushed myself through it. I wasn't too concerned about getting stuck since I was more focused on figuring a way to get to back. Zeke had said it was easier to go places if you knew exactly where you wanted to go, which of course I didn't. If I was flying over the United States, I could pinpoint where I had been within a second, but not… um, wherever I was now. I still had no idea where exactly I was located. No clue if this was heaven or hell, or even some type of purgatory. And I wasn't particularly in the mood to find out.

However there was one specific location I wanted to be, and that was where Max was. Did that go against Teleportation rules? If I imagined myself next to Max, would that be specific enough? Hmm. I walked down the hall, making sure no one was following or watching. Sure, they'd be able to hear my thoughts, but I wanted to be alone physically - well, as physical as a spirit could be. I slipped my head through the door of one room and found it empty, so I continued in.

Okay, this was my chance. I had to find the Flock… and more importantly my body. If I had any chance of living again, I figured it would be teleporting to where Max was. I centered myself, my body becoming rigid, as I pictured her in my mind. Her gorgeous blond-streaked hair, those warm brown eyes, the little freckles that appeared on her cheeks and nose in the sun. Then, feeling my will rise, I whispered to myself, "Go to Maximum Ride." And with that, I was gone.

* * *

"Hey, Max, can I have another granola bar?" She looked down to see a mess of wind-blown blond hair and large blue eyes looking up at her expectantly. Seeing Gazzy like this, looking free, somewhat clean, and not plotting anything evil at the moment, sent a kick through her heart. It was hard to believe that he was an evil genius seeing him like this.

"Sure," she said, pulling her backpack off her shoulders and rummaging through until she found what he wanted. Giving it to him, he tore at the wrapper greedily and ate half the bar with one bite. She rolled her eyes.

They had been on the road - errr, in the sky - for a couple days, going from Arizona to Virginia. The Voice had told them to go there. She hadn't understood the reasoning behind it, but then again the Voice wasn't noted for sharing his motives.

She involuntarily began scanning heads. Angel was off at the edge of the forest with Total, talking with a rabbit — Max swore that Angel never ceased to amaze her. Iggy was lying back in the grass, munching on a bag of chips. Gazzy was by my side and Nudge was—

"_Max, _do you have the pack of crackers?" she asked.

Max checked her bag and frowned. "No, I don't, but I think Fang should."

"Speaking of Fang, have you seen him?" Nudge asked, looking around at the nearby trees. "He's been gone for a while."

"He said he wanted to check out the area, so he should be back soon." Max couldn't drop the sinking feeling deep within. He _had _been gone for a while. If he had left just to use the restroom, he would have been back in a minute, but it had been at least ten. The squawking of hawks overhead made her wonder if he was flying with them, but with her raptor vision she couldn't detect anything bird-kid shaped. Where was he?

"Guys, let's go look for him," she ordered. "Keep close and stay on guard, just in case." She hated saying that, but she had to be prepared for all possibilities. The rest nodded somberly. Her heart felt as though it had dropped into her stomach. It wasn't like Fang to disappear without any warning, unless... She didn't want to think about it. She kept her face carefully composed, not wanting to freak out unless she was convinced that something bad occurred.

They ran through the woods, scanning every nook and cranie carefully, when they broke out into a smaller clearing. A miniature river flowed east at a fast pace, the water crashing against rocks and the land angrily. She had to admit it was pretty ominous.

"Max." She looked down to see a very terrified Angel, eyes wide and fearful. "I, I can't hear Fang." Her voice broke when she said his name. Max squelched any fears that had bottled up inside of her and knelt down to comfort Angel.

"Shh, its okay, he may have just gone for a flight." It was hopeless to make excuses when everyone knew that it wasn't true.

Angel shook her head, tears sprouting at the corners of her eyes. "Max, I think he's gone." She pointed to something behind Max. "Look."

Her heart dropped again, the blood running cold within her veins. Slowly she turned, and what she saw caused her breath to catch in her throat. Fear and terror washed over her, along with a sheer determination and her knee-jerk reaction to kill someone and run away.

Sitting along the bank of the river was Fang's backpack.

Now she could freak out.

* * *

**Hey, I know I've been neglecting this story for a while, so that's why I really wanted to get this chapter up. I've spent the past couple days finishing an essay for the Defining Twilight contest (which for the record, my essay sucked) and I wanted to get this chapter done before I worked on Not So Normal. I also totally forgot that today was Anti-Hardwicke day, so I was thinking of writting some poetry for the cause. :P haha, if anyone has any comments, please leave them in your review, and also sign the petition on St. Fang of Boredom's profile page if you haven't.**

**7 reviews for the last chapter. Everyone who reviewed rocks!! I wanna send you guys virtual cookies. :) Haikilund, I know Nightwish is amazing. :D Dt, it might not be as easy as you think it'll be. I have something interesting planned. :) Fangfan5, AFAP? Love it! I'm gonna use that from now on and everyone will be like wtf?? haha Fuzzylogic11, from now on will be the (sort of) fun part, where Fang will be looking for his body, trying to communicate with the Flock, etc. Hopefully it gets better cause I know this chappie was a little weird, slightly OOC, and kind of suckish.**

**Review please!**

**--biteoutoflife--**


	7. Chapter 6 Dilemma

Chapter 6 - Dilemma

When I arrived, I wasn't prepared for what I happened next.

It didn't surprise me to suddenly appear at the clearing I was at, right before I "died". I immediately recognized it, even though it looked like every other forest we had been in. It was sort of in the shape of a horseshoe, and in the distance I could hear the whooshing of the river. Ah, the scene of the crime. I would have run back there to look for my body right away if I hadn't been distressed by the voices rising into the thin air. And also the sniffling.

Oh, my God.

I took a survey of the land, seeing each of the flock members circled around a campfire. Max was standing in front of the others, like an orator telling a scary, ancient legend to children. The look on her face was carefully tough, her eyes extremely hard like dark topaz. She had her leader face on, but underneath everything I could see a sort of frenzy in her expression. And even deeper… pain? Everyone else had various looks of sadness, doubt, and hurt, too. Angel and Nudge had tears streaming down their cheeks. Total was curled up in between them, bawling his eyes out. Gazzy was holding back his cries, his hands holding his knees tightly. Iggy's eyes seemed even more unfocused than usual, but I could see a determination blazing underneath. Or maybe it was just the fire.

Had they seen my body? Did they know I was (sort of) dead? If so, then where was my body? They would never leave it behind, no matter what. That was our motto. We would never allow a family member's body to be left in the place they'd died, in the hands of enemies, or any other location that would bring us pain in remembering. Even Max had brought Ari back from Germany, and he was never an official member of the flock.

I was standing roughly twenty feet away in a position that I could see everyone's faces. Standing under the shadows of the large trees, it would almost be impossible for any of them to see me. I had a way of blending into any background, as well as naturally disappearing against a dark backdrop. That was useful during the night if we ever got attacked or if I needed to run away.

Part of me was dying to run over to them, to greet Max with a big hug, to tell them that everything was okay and that I'm not really dead— as un-Fang-like as that may sound. But another part of me was saying to lie low, to hear what they were talking about before I barge in. Talk about giving them a heart attack. Not to mention that Max would murder me, probably thinking that I'd ran away or pulled a huge prank on them. Which was something I would never, ever do.

I listened in to their conversation, dying to be there and let them know I'm okay.

"Guys, I think I'm gonna go out again," Max said, her voice sounding stern yet very tired.

"Why?" Gazzy asked. "Max, we've been out for hours."

"Yeah, we've finally taken a break. You should sit down and relax; you need it just as much as we do," Angel said.

Max sighed, and it took all my energy to keep my feet planted so I wouldn't run to her. "I have to keep looking. I can't sit still without knowing what happened to Fang. You guys stay here. Keep the fire low in case whoever got him comes back."

"What happens if you don't come back?" Nudge asked.

"Call my mom. Let her know what's going on. _Only _if I'm not back by morning. Iggy, you're in charge until then. Make sure everyone stays here in the general area, and make sure they're never out of hearing range. If whoever took Fang comes around and the odds are bad, split up, but otherwise stick together."

I noticed how she said 'whoever took Fang' instead considering other options. Like if I ran away, or if I died, or if I was temporarily dead and needed to find my body or else I _would _die. For good. But I guess it wasn't every day that something like that happened now was it?

"Behave, and get some sleep." Max turned around and started heading in my direction. My eyes widened. This was it. It was pretty obvious they hadn't found my body, but if I asked for help we could all look together. With seven pairs of eyes, we could fan out and cover more ground.

"Max," I called as I stepped out from the trees. To my surprise, she didn't respond. She didn't even look up in my direction. Hadn't she heard me? "Max," I said more loudly. Still no reaction.

Well, this wasn't good.

I ran out to her and waved my hands in front of her face, trying to get her attention, but she didn't see me. Realization dawned on me just then. Fuck. I can't believe I hadn't thought of this sooner! Why hadn't I learned from Scrooge?

I wasn't a physical being anymore! I was a spirit! They couldn't see me at all.

"Max! Max, Max, Max, Max, Max!!" My effort was futile, even though I was shouting in a way that I'd never had before. I was desperate, and she couldn't hear me. None of the flock did, either. This wasn't like when I was invisible, when they could still hear me if I spoke.

I was inches from Max now, and I stretched out my arm to restrain her from leaving, but I'm sure you figured out what happened. I did too, even though I was so desperate and crazed that I tried it anyway.

My hand went right through her.

This couldn't get any worse.

"Max, I'm right here! It's Fang! Please, don't go. I'm here, right beside you. I promised I'd never leave, and I'm keeping that promise. I'm here for you. Max, just listen, _please!_" I was close to hysterics, which was completely unlike me. It was hard to be here, knowing that my family was saddened by my sudden disappearance, and I was right here. They couldn't see me. Couldn't hear me. Can't feel my touch. I may seem like an apathetic jerk at times, but I did care about the other's feelings. It was killing me to see them so down, and it was even worse knowing that the cause of their pain was standing right there, trying to communicate with them.

Max ran a few steps and leapt into the sky, looking extremely beautiful, fierce, and graceful. I'd always teased her about her flying, but I was joking. Everything about her, her wings, her golden locks, her body, was perfect. God was she gorgeous. I couldn't believe when she finally accepted our relationship. And if I didn't do something fast, I would be separated from her for eternity.

I sprinted to the flock, who were still camped around the fire. "Guys, you can hear me, right? C'mon. It's Fang! You've know me your whole lives! Stop Max before she leaves because you don't have to look for me." I was starting to become like Nudge. I was rambling for no reason, saying stuff that would calm my nerves, even though it was making me more crazed by the second. Of course they didn't see me. _I_ wasn't the Fang they were looking for. They needed my body, as evidence that they could find out what happened, or at least guess. They would think I died, and if I didn't tell them they would be crushed. I couldn't let that happen.

How could I let them know?

_Angel?_ I thought hopefully. Maybe my mind was still present. Could she hear me? _Angel, it's Fang. I'm here but you can't see me. Angel, go get Max before she does something stupid. You don't have to look for me…_

I doubted she heard me. She would have done something, or at least perked up. Her head still hung low, looking the most down I had seen in a long time. That really stung. Angel was really precious to Max, and I guess to me, too. We practically raised her, and she was the youngest. I wished I could make it all better like when she cut her thumb on a rose bush, or if she stubbed her toe on a rock. This was one thing that I was completely incapable of doing alone, and yet that was the only way I could do it.

The reality of it all made me want to drop to the ground and retreat into myself, like I always did at the School. Every attempt seemed useless. There wasn't anything I could do.

I couldn't afford to give up trying.

* * *

**Okay guys, this update would have come yesterday if Fanfiction hadn't been so stupid, like it has appeared to be for everyone. Even to get this up I had to be very sneaky and do things differently. But I'm keeping my techniques hush hush for the moment. ;)**

**She wants to move, that's what I like to hear! Hopefully this chapter satisfied part of your anticipation, although I admit nothing really exciting happened. StarofCalamity, are you serious? I hope you're just joking about Hardwicke. Thanks again Kiliro for giving me 6 extra reviews! Love ya!! And thanks to everyone else who reviewed.**

**Some updates: NSN chapter 30 is almost done, so I might have to be sneaky putting that one up, too. I like this version a lot better than the original chapter 30. Uh... I'm gonna be gone a few days this weekend, not sure whether it will be 2 or 3 days, though. I'm going to NYC with my aunt to see Wicked the Musical as an early birthday gift. So... if anyone wants to stop by Broadway... :P I'll post pictures on photobucket or something and put a link on my profile afterwards. I'm hoping our hotel has internet connection... :/**

**Review please!**

**--biteoutoflife--**


	8. Chapter 7 Composure

Chapter 7 – Composure

Max was tired; the muscles in her back and wings ached with every sweep of her feathers. Her breath came in quick little wisps. Each exhale brought upon a puff of condensation as the temperature dropped and the altitude rose. She was hovering too high in the sky, she thought, to see anything below appropriately. If she wanted to find Fang, she had to stay closer to the ground. As dangerous as that could be. She didn't have to stay out of the public eye, since everyone knew about the famous bird-kids, but if an enemy was nearby, she'd be in trouble. Caution was vital.

Earlier the Flock had flown the entire length of the river that they'd found Fang's bag by, but they didn't find anything. There had been no sign of him or helicopters, trucks, or anything that could have taken a bird-kid away. It was like he just disappeared. There was no trace of him. And it was impossible for him to get lost. _What happened?_

Getting frustrated, she shifted her search from the river to the forest. Dodging trees was simple enough, even in the darkness. Their vision was better than humans, even at night, and it was instinct. The more she searched, the more hopeless it seemed. There were no fires, except for the flock's, which she couldn't see anymore. He was nowhere, and it seemed pointless to keep looking.

The reality of the situation crashed down on her. She choked back sobs, holding the tears in. Even alone, where no one could see her, she hated to cry. She dropped into the nearest tree and slumped on the branches. Her head fell in her hands as she tried to compose herself. She was out of options, with no idea what had happened to Fang. As much as she didn't want to think about it, there were some possibilities that she hadn't considered.

As much as she didn't want to think about it, there had to have been a reason why Fang wasn't around. The most obvious, and the most painful, option was that he'd run away. As unlikely as that would seem, that was the only thing that made sense anymore. One of them should have seen it coming. Angel would have read it in his mind, or Max would have sensed it when they had some alone time. They'd become very close, even more so than they were before. It was like they had a connection, and if anything was bothering either of them, the other would have known. She didn't feel anything change. In fact, everything felt… perfect? Peaceful? Right? She didn't know how to describe it, but it was beyond incredible.

Was there a deeper layer to him that she hadn't thought of? He wasn't the dark, silent one for nothing. Was he getting tired of roaming? Did he finally decide to settle down? No. Of course not. She would have known. Shouldn't she?

Sighing in exasperation, she laid back against the trunk. She _was_ very tired, and thinking about it now, leaving the flock had been a stupid idea. They were all just as devastated as she was, and yet she had been stupid and stubborn enough to fly off anyway. She was being childish about the situation, not wanting to admit that Fang wasn't there. It was horrible, and of course the one shoulder she wanted to lean on was gone. She had four others, but there was something special about it being his.

The more she thought of him, the worse the stabs at her chest felt. Being without him was like being unable to breathe. Having your other half missing made her incomplete. She suddenly realized how sappy that sounded, but there was some truth to the clichés. She was worried for him, and with him being her biggest supported, she had no one to voice her concerns to. And she most definitely wasn't going to talk to the Voice about it. No chance in hell.

It became very cold just then. Extremely cold. She shivered, hugging her windbreaker to her lanky frame. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and her eyes frantically scanned her surroundings. Nothing was out of place. Birds were still chirping. Bats wings fluttered overhead. Why was she acting so paranoid?

Leaning forward, straddling the branch she was sitting on, she looked at her location. She was about four miles northwest of where the flock had been, somewhere within the state of Missouri. It shouldn't have taken them long to leave; in fact, they should have been in West Virginia by this time. Tomorrow morning, they were supposed to meet whoever the Voice led them to in Virginia. But that would have to wait. They wouldn't leave until they found Fang, or at least know where he is.

She wondered why the Voice hadn't dropped in by now. Even if she didn't like it, it usually had some advice to give her. It always knew what was going on, and its silence was unnerving. Was the Voice stumped? Did it not know what to say? Was she so beyond listening to anyone that it didn't even bother?

Twigs snapped nearby, and her head shot to where the sound had come. Even with her good vision, the woods were too dense for her to see anything that wasn't immediately in front of her. Her heart stopped momentarily before it picked up at a panicked rate. A cold sweat brewed on her skin. _What was going on? _

She dropped almost silently from the tree to the ground, landing in a crouch. Wildlife rocketed from underneath bushes, flowers, and other foliage as if they were being chased. Her senses were on haywire, too, and she didn't know why.

More rustling sounded, and she took in a deep breath before asking, "Who's there?"

There was no response. The sounds ended altogether, even though they had come from very close by.

She took another step forward. This could be dangerous, especially since she'd already made her presence known. If it was an enemy, they had the upper hand. If it was someone in need, than maybe her risk would be worth it. One of those famous snap decisions on her behalf. Another option ran through her mind, but she didn't dare to bring it up.

"Hello? Is someone hurt?" She was right there. Each breath sounded loud and hoarse in the silent night. What if it was an animal? What if she imagined it? That could be a part of insanity. Peering over the brush, she looked to see who, or what, was there.

Then she groaned in disbelief.

Nothing. She stared at the empty ground.

Maybe she _was_ going insane. She felt stupid for leaving the flock, especially if they were in danger. Taking a few steps back, she ran foward before jumping into the air, beating her wings as she caught an updraft and rose toward the black ocean above.

* * *

**Sorry for length, but this is the best I can offer right now. Writing is extremely difficult again, and it isn't from writer's block. For right now, I think this story might be my main focus, only because it seems to be the only thing I can write for right now. So hopefully more will come soon. Um, yeah, the more I thought about this story, the more I realize that there are really only a few more chapters left. Maybe like 5-7 chapters before it's done. Well see how it works out. **

**I was very pleased to see I got 11 reviews last chapter. Keep it up cause I loooove reviews! Like I said in the last chapter of NSN, my trip to NYC is moved from this weekend to Labor Day weekend, so you have to deal with me for another couple weeks. :P It'sTimeToDance, thanks for the review! I love new reviewers and appreciate the compliment. Hey, Dt, we should have, like, a birthday party or something on the site! Everyone can send us virtual presents! :P To anyone, I turn the big 1-7 on the 28th, so, you know, virtual presents are awesome. Kina Kalamari, it's not so much that he has to contact them as it is he needs to let them now that he is (sort of) alive. If they sit there waiting for him to "return", he'll probably die. If he can rally them to find his body, then he can find live. He still has like a day and a half though to look for it. **

**I don't have much else to say. Keep reviewing. Read NSN if you haven't, and also the poetry corner (I need to work on that, too. Ugh). Yeah, that's it.**

**--biteoutoflife--**


	9. Chapter 8 Breakthrough

Chapter 8 – Breakthrough

I was bored now, a little down, but mostly frustrated. It had been an hour or so since Max had left and she hadn't returned at all. As far as I knew she could be flying across the country searching for me… I mean, my body. I wanted to tell everyone that I was right here, but nothing could really get across to them.

Sitting around the fire with the flock had been weird this time. What was normally a warm, pleasant sensation that would float across my skin, now held no particular feeling to my spirit-form. It was a little distressing and unnerving, but I was beginning to get used to it. The change from dusk to darkness didn't bring its usual wave of coolness. It was just… nothing. There was no feeling, not pleasant or bad. I sound apathetic. Maybe I _was_ becoming apathetic. Despite what everyone thinks I'm not always Mr. Rock.

So in this short amount of time I think I figured out what drive me crazier than anything else in this world: a silent flock. Usually I wanted to choke the life out of them and appreciated their quiet moments – like when they were _sleeping_ – but they were so depressed, anxious, upset. Not only was I "missing" but Max had gone off too. For all they knew Max could have ran off out of anguish. I knew she would never abandon the flock but they didn't think I would either. Which, of course, technically I didn't.

I was torn between staying here and running off after Max. I wish there was a way I could drag her back here, give her a long kiss, and then explain everything. Sadly none of these options were possible, as much as I wanted them to be. However if any opportunity presented itself to communicate to the flock, I needed to be here to seize it. Would it be easier to make five bird-kids believe me or one leader bird-kid?

I sighed.

Right now I was sitting beside Iggy, who was staring dejectedly and blindly at the fire. Total and Angel were curled up in a tree high above us. Gazzy was playing with some toy cars he always carried in his backpack and Nudge was drawing stick figures on the dirt with a twig. Wait!

Searching around me, I found a small stick that hadn't been used in the fire and bound over to Nudge. This would either be my greatest idea yet of successfully scare the crap out of her. If that was the case that could be pretty hilarious. Next to Nudge's drawing of a dress I wrote very carefully '_Nudge'._ I had no idea if the stick would disappear in my grasp or if it appeared like a floating object.

At first she took no notice to her name, but once she saw it she blanched. I smiled, knowing that it had worked. I quickly scribbled '_its Fang'._ She gasped, and then screamed at the top of her lungs, "Oh. My. GOD!"

Everyone jolted as if they'd been electrocuted. I was pleased at myself for coming up with this but would they believe me? "What's up?" Iggy asked, rising to his feet.

"You have to see this!" she shouted, eyes as wide as saucers.

"I can't _see_, Nudge."

"Well everyone else can." Gazzyand Iggy ran over while Angel and Total hopped down from the tree. I was dying of anticipation. This could be it! I could finally tell them what was going on. Soon everyone was swarming around Nudge as she pointed to the ground. "See? I didn't put that down. And it's in Fang's handwritting."

Gazzy told Iggy what was on the ground and he whistled. "Do you think it's a trap?" he wondered.

"I don't know. Let's see what happens." Below my writings, she penned '_Fang?'_

I pursed my lips. How do I respond? '_Yo.' _That was safe, wasn't it?

Everyone gasped. "How's it possible? Fang, are you here right now? Why can't we see you? Are you invisible?"

"Yeah, I can't hear your thoughts at all?" Angel said.

_'I can't really explain it,' _I wrote.

"How do we know it's you?" Total asked. "You could be a new invention that is invisible and will kill us all shortly."

_'Angel and Gazzy have identical birthmarks on their thighs.'_

There was a pause as everyone processed this.

"Wow," Total breathed.

"Oh, Fang, you're here!" Angel gushed. "Uh… somewhere anyway."

"I told you," Nudge said, sounding very pleased and a little disbelieving.

"Dude, where are you?" Iggy asked.

_'Right next to you.'_

Gazzy told him what was written and everyone gasped again. "How? Why can no one see you? Or feel you? Or whatever… is it a new power?"

I wish it could have been that simple. I also wished I had enough room to write everything on the ground. I wiped off my previous scratches and wrote '_No. I'm a spirit.'_

"What the—?" Gazzy asked.

"A spirit?" Nudge supplied.

_'I need you to find Max. Tell her I need to find my body.' _I wasn't going to tell them that I was sort of dead; there was no need to scare them unnecessarily. They needed to be focused, not concerned.

"O-Okay." Angel's voice shook.

"Are we heading out?" Total asked Iggy. He was in charge now.

"I guess so. Did anyone see which direction she flew off?"

"I did," Gazzy said.

"Okay. Fang…" He seemed uncomfortable addressing no one, even if I was technically there. At least before I could personally respond to him, he could sense my presence. Now I was basically nothing. "Will you be here when we come back?"

I thought about how I should answer that. Part of me wanted to look for my body too, but I also wanted to accompany them to find Max. What was the best option? There were so many questions I needed to have answered, too, before I could continue with the flock on my side.

_'We'll see,'_ I finally wrote. I _was_ leaving, but I wasn't heading with them or searching for my body.

I was going back to the Dead School.

* * *

**I might take the rest of the week off so I can finish my summer assignments. I really wanted to get this chapter out to promote a couple causes. First, check out my new story "Winning Bid." It's a two-shot that I think will be kind of sweet. Second is that I made my first video on youtube that I'd love for everyone to check out. It kind of sucks but oh well. The link is in my profile. Also some of my friends and I want to start a web show for MR, so if you have any idea as to what we should do, be sure to tell me!**

**This chapter was pretty rushed, but life is also pretty crazy right now. Driver's test tomorrow, hockey tonight and Friday, party/movies Thursday, NYC Sunday and Monday... oh yeah, and my birthday is Friday too. Not to mention my dad's was yesterday. So with everything and summer reading this week is pretty hectic. And I start school next Tuesday so I need to fit supply shopping somewhere into this crazy week, too.**

**Review please!  
--biteoutoflife--**


	10. Chapter 9 Return

Chapter 9 - Return

I teleported back to Dead School, determined to get the answers I needed. But in my brief time spent with my fellow (hopefully not for too long) dead peers, I learned that straight answers don't come easy. Mind games and plays on words, yes, they were frequent. Something to clear confusion? That was a laughable matter.

Thinking solely about Zeke, my Teleportation skill led me right into the middle of a classroom— one that was _full of dead students_. I didn't recognize any of them from my Dead Skills class, but the white-haired, crisp suited man standing before everyone was a welcome sight. He took me in with a look that was half-knowing and half-surprised.

He raised a snow white eyebrow. "Fang? What took you so long to come back?"

Most of the kids stared at me in amazement, whether from the Teleportation or the wings I wasn't sure. I tried not to focus on the eyes that were watching me. "I have some more questions to ask you," I said simply, but with a deathly quietness that showed I meant business.

"Does that mean you didn't have luck in finding your body?" His eyebrows furrowed; the creases on his ancient face bunched in worry.

My hands twitched nervously, the only sign of my true feelings. "That's not exactly why I came back."

"Then why did you?" He clucked his tongue in disappointment. "Is it safe to assume that you didn't read the rest of your copy of _Death for Dummies_? I'm sure it could have answered whatever you were planning on asking me."

"Even so, I'd rather hear it from you." I wasn't sure why I was suddenly placing all of my hope in my Death Guide, especially since I'd only known him for a few hours. Maybe it was his appearance that gave him a countenance of wisdom. Or his unusual youth that accompanied his buoyant personality. Zeke was a strangely pleasant person — someone that was hard to not like.

"Hmm." He scratched his chin pensively. Suddenly, he turned toward the curious onlookers. "Class dismissed," he declared. There were some cheers of excitement as dead teens ran through the door (literally _through_ the door). Once everyone dispersed, I had his full attention. "Go on, Fang. I'd like to see what brought you here again. A few hours ago you were dying to leave." He chuckled at his horrible joke.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. If I didn't feel the need to return, I would have kept as far from this place as possible. Zeke laughed; he saw my thoughts as amusing.

This time I did roll my eyes. Then I was serious again. "I didn't find my body," I began.

He checked a watch on his wrist, which was totally ironic. Dead people could care less about the time. "You have about a day left," he noted, as if I wasn't already aware of it. "You might want to start hurrying."

"Don't worry about that. I've got a crew searching for my body."

This confused him. "A group of Dead kids?"

I shook my head. "No, my Flock."

Dead silence. No pun intended.

He gazed at me with wild eyes. "You… got the Flock to look for your body?"

I took a deep breath, realizing the gravity of the situation. Shit. "That's not something that should be possible, is it?" Come to think of it, I never remembered Scrooge being able to communicate with the living world. I was a freak, but then again I always had been. A freak in death was not a terrible surprise.

"No." He took another moment to absorb the information. "How were you able to do that?"

"At first I tried talking to them, but they couldn't hear me. Then I wrote words on the ground to Nudge. She saw them and freaked out. The others saw my messages, too." All with one big exception, the most important member of the Flock to me.

"That's very unusual," he mused. He paced around the room. "I can't even begin to count the sum of us who have tried to communicate with loved ones in a similar fashion. Ground writings, letters, emails. Nothing has worked for us."

"Why is that, do you think?"

He sighed, frustrated. "I'm not sure. I'll have to ask the Big Guy when I see him later. But I'd suspect it has something to do with you not being completely dead and the bond you share with the Flock."

At least I wasn't a Scrooge, as much as you guys might believe so.

"What happens when we find my body?" I asked next. I didn't want to worry him more. "Do I just magically zip back to it, or do I have some kind of strange Skill to perform?" I could imagine it being similar to an out-of-body experience where I see my spirit descending out of air to rejoin my physical form.

"You can will yourself back to your body," he said, glad to have a question he could answer. He laughed suddenly. "Don't worry. Out of everything you have to do, that should be the easiest."

I nodded. With a new surge of confidence, I was willing to ignore any more questions about death I had. As far as I was concerned, I didn't need to have them answered. All that was important was that I had the Flock working for me and that I had to find my body soon. Everything else didn't matter unless the unimaginable happened, but I couldn't allow myself to become pessimistic.

"I can see that you're just about finished." His face softened with resignation. "I wish you luck on the rest of your journey." I wasn't sure, but it almost sounded like he was implying more, as if I had a future of traveling and purpose-filled days ahead of me. He either had hope or was confident in me.

I almost smiled. "Thanks." I was going to leave, but something popped into my mind. "I have one more question."

"Ask anything you'd like."

"Can you see the future?"

He laughed, but before he could answer I felt a presence enter the room behind me. I turned to see a flustered Bobby, the Southern boy, running toward us frantically. Zeke picked up on his tension immediately.

"Bobby, what's wrong?"

The boy was taking deep breaths, as if he had just finished a sprint. "It's Derrick. He's gone."

* * *

"Now guys, you know what we got to do." Iggy paced back and forth, moving only several steps in either direction. Since Max had left, he had taken charge of the Flock, a job he used to pretended to take seriously. But since whatever Fang had become had communicated with them, all joking had vanished. "We need to find Fang's body. Whatever has happened to him, it's something that we have to overcome. We don't want to wait too long in case the river has carried his body away or condors think they're picking at a corpse."

That made everyone wince, but the message was understood.

"We'll split into groups. I'll be with Gazzy and we'll head east, traveling along the river. Angel and Nudge will go west and search through the woods. Time is of the essence." He stopped and stared, oddly able to make eye contact with each member of the Flock. "Any questions?"

Total raised his paw in vain. "Uh, yeah, where am I involved?" He sounded offended.

"And Max," Gazzy shouted. "What will she do?"

"Both she and Total will go south, check through towns and villages. Maybe someone found his body and called it in to the authorities."

"But there's still one _teensy_ little problem," Nudge added. "As good as this plan sounds, Ig, Max is the leader. What if she doesn't agree to this? What if she thinks that it's a trap?"

"And we don't even know if she'll believe us in the first place," Angel said quietly. "She might come back as a wreck. She _loves_ Fang, and I'm sure she's still in denial."

"That's why we decided to keep the writing as evidence. Or at least I hope you did. You guys didn't guide me over it by accident, right?"

"Nah, man," Gazzy assured.

"Alright, now we just need Max…"

His voice trailed off as a shuffling sounded in the distance. Everyone tensed and prepared to fight, in case an enemy had followed them into the woods.

_It might be her_, Angel whispered into Iggy's mind, but he shook his head.

_Stay on guard, just in case. Do you hear any thoughts?_

She paused and listened. Her nose scrunched up in annoyance. _No, I don't hear anything._

The rustling grew closer, and everyone was hyper-alert. It was show time. In only seconds they'd know who was approaching their camp. Iggy held his breath and counted the steps. _Five, four, three, two, one…_

When it sounded as though the intruder had stepped into the clearing, three bird kids and one dog gasped. Iggy wished he could have known who it was.

He didn't have to wait long to find out.

"_Fang!_"

* * *

**Mwahaha. :) So dear readers, I was kicking back one night, thinking about my fanfics, when a strange little idea snuck its way into my head. It said, "Work on Ghost of Me!" I couldn't ignore the Voice (he he), and when I sat down to write, I completely forgot everything that had happened. So I took the time to reread the story, and inspiration struck. I appreciate everyone who has read this story before, and those of you who continue to discover it even with the lack of updates. But I must insist that you REREAD THE STORY. Seriously, REREAD THIS STORY. It'll help you remember what happened, and it's not terribly long (heck, even I was able to reread it in one sitting, and that's saying something).**

**Oh, and a new chapter of Anything But Easy should be out tomorrow. I'm too lazy to review it tonight.**

**--biteoutoflife--**


	11. Chapter 10 Surprise

Chapter 10 – Surprise

When I returned to the Flock, I was in for the surprise of my life (or non-life).

But before I get ahead of myself, let me back track a bit. After Bobby and Zeke rushed off to investigate the whole Derrick ordeal, it was my time to exit. And no, not from this world, but from Dead School. I didn't know how together the Flock was at the moment, whether they'd spread out or not to search for my body. I wasn't even sure if Max had rejoined them yet. Still, the clock was ticking until I literally became a dead man.

Of all the mutant bird-kids I wanted to be with, there was really no option. The main reason I had to find my body was to be with her again.

I teleported to Max.

As my spirit coagulated to where she was, I landed to some spot mid-air, with her flying _straight at me_. She zipped by, her powerful strokes cutting the distance between us instantly. I was in her path. Out of instinct, I flipped out of the way to avoid the impact, but I was getting carried away ― not literally. I realized that it didn't really matter. She would have gone straight through me anyway. How profound.

I wondered why she hadn't returned to the Flock yet, or if she was going there now. Maybe she had wanted the distance while she could get it. To be alone to think of what to do next. I felt horrible; I'd been the cause of all of this. If only I had stayed with the others instead of wandering off for a little while. Then I could have been with them when I "died". This whole mess could have been avoided.

While I was stuck in my reverie, she was speeding away. I needed to catch up to her.

I didn't know how fast I could float or fly or whatever I could do now. It would have been wise to brush up on my powers before I came back, but there wasn't much time left. Tomorrow afternoon would be the 48-hour mark, and unless I had returned my spirit to its body I would be dead forever. I couldn't afford to waste any more time.

Somehow, floating was similar to flying. I forced my momentum forward without needed to flap my wings, shooting toward Max like Superman dashing to Louis Lane's side. Even as she flew at extremely high speeds, I was able to keep up. By the time we were even with each other, I was hovering over her. I tried to look at her face, but her sandy hair blew around her head wildly.

What I would have gave to be able to read her thoughts at that moment! Of all the Dead Skills that I obtained in my sort-of-dead state, reading minds had such potential. It would put me on even grounds with Angel. I could tell what Max was really thinking right now, and that prospect made my heart (miraculously) race.

The sun was rising in the horizon. I could see if reflecting off a river hidden through the line of trees. How far were we from the others? Had they found my body yet while I was gone?

A few minutes later, Max descended, folding her wings into a nose dive to the ground. I quickly dropped with her. Normally the wind resistance and G's would have made my eyes water, but being dead had some conveniences. We were heading toward a clearing. Below, I could see the heads of the Flock looking up at us. I was relieved; at least they had waited for Max.

I was counting heads — what can I say? It's a habit of bird-kids— when I noticed something odd. I stopped and then recounted. _One, two, three… four… five?_ Then a smaller dot that was Total. Who else was with them?

Max noticed the extra number, too, and flew faster. I was caught off guard by her sudden speed; I had to push myself harder to keep up.

About one hundred feet from the ground, I recognized who the other form was. Of all the possibilities I could have imagined, none was as relieving or as horrifying as this. My eyes widened in complete shock.

It was me.

My breath — if I'd had any — caught in my throat as I saw myself looking up in our direction. The rest of the Flock looked excited; about Max or me I wasn't sure. But this was all wrong. That was not _me_, because I was still here. But there I was, in the flesh, standing upright and definitely not dead-looking.

How was this possible? I'm dead! Or sort of dead, anyway. Why isn't my body lying flat on the ground? Maybe this is some horrible dream… or attack of the zombies.

I sniffed. _Zombies_. My view on the supernatural was really broadening.

I made eye contact with my body, and I knew instantly. The sly smile, crinkled eyes that were too deceptive and proud. While it was my body that took on these traits, the mannerisms did not belong to me. It was someone else. Someone, or something, was inside of my body while I was stuck in the spirit world.

Of all the possibilities I could have imagined, this was definitely not one of them.

Max landed, standing before the five bird-kids and a flying dog. I came to stop in front of her to read her expression. She was just as surprised as me, and, oh! I could see the skepticism, too. I knew I could count on her to see the truth. The rest of the Flock seemed to believe this imposter except for Angel, who looked frustrated.

"Max! Max! Max!" everyone shouted in unison as they rushed her. She appeared flustered but hugged everyone. The other Fang hung back until the others were finished.

"Hey, guys," she replied. Once they were finished, she looked at my body. "Fang." Her voice was stiff, guarded.

For the briefest second, he hesitated as he got his first real look at Max. I could see it in his eyes. He was attracted to her, but that didn't surprise me. It only pissed me off. When he regained his composure, he shuffled over awkwardly to hug her. I was boiling with rage. Who the hell did he think he was?

The embrace looked uncomfortable and lasted a little too long for my liking. If I had any physical ability right now, I would have pulled him off of Max and ripped his smug little head off his neck. But I really didn't want to damage my body so he was lucky.

"Max!" Nudge exclaimed again. "Oh, Max, why were you gone so long? Fang came back only a half hour ago. We were going to split up to look for him but then here he came and now we're all one big happy family again. Except, not really a family because none of us are siblings except for Gazzy and Angel but you know what I mean."

"Hmm… Maybe I was gone a bit longer than necessary," she mused.

"But I told them to wait until you returned," Iggy inserted proudly.

She rolled her eyes. "Where were you?" Everyone knew she was addressing the other me, but the way she did so confused them. It was offhand, untrusting, cold. Either she was convinced that I'd deserted the Flock — and inadvertently her — for several hours or I was a fake. If it was the first option, I was a real goner when I found a way to get my body back.

"I was captured by some whacko scientists, but I was able to escape," the other me lied smoothly. Hearing his—my— voice was disconcerting.

"Is that so?" I did not like this Max, and neither did the Flock.

"Don't be mad at him," Gazzy defended. "You weren't the only one hurt when he disappeared. Just be glad we have him back now."

My heart sank. How could they fall for his lies? Couldn't they tell by looking at him that this wasn't me? I contemplated writing on the ground again, but I really didn't want to alarm them. For all they knew, this guy could be Fang II, and then where would we be? I had to wait for the right moment to strike.

Max rubbed her head angrily. "Okay, guys, we've wasted too much time here. Let's find some food and then head off on the mission Jeb asked us to do."

The others were concerned for her but didn't argue. Quickly they packed all their belongings. One by one they took off, until only Max, Angel, and Fang were left. Max pulled Angel to the side to talk with her. I didn't hear their conversation; I was too busy examining my body with no success. I couldn't tell who was in me.

Angel took off after they'd finished, and Max turned to where Fang and I stood. "You coming?" she asked sternly.

He nodded. "Just give me a moment."

She shook her head and flew off with the others.

When we were alone, he turned to my general direction. It almost seemed like he could see where I was standing. He smirked again.

"Fang," he said haughtily. "You're girlfriend's hot. I'm going to enjoy the rest of your life with her." He laughed.

I was ready to punch him. If he could have heard me, I would have cussed him out.

He prepared to take off, not quite knowing how. "By the way, I love this Possession Skill." He ungracefully took to the sky. I gasped.

Derrick was in my body.

* * *

**Um... yeah. This has been written for a while, but I've just been kind of lazy. I'm going to be in Florida tomorrow through next Saturday (I'm gonna die in the heat!), so I probably won't have computer access. But I am officially done with high school! Freedom rocks. B)**

**-biteoutoflife-**


	12. Chapter 11 Realization

Chapter 11 - Realization

I couldn't move. Frozen into complete shock. I wasn't sure which emotion was winning in the grapple that was taking place in my chest. Confusion, rage, betrayal, hurt- I felt like I could die, but since I was technically dead I knew I didn't have time to be melodramatic.

Slowly, mechanically, I floated toward the six figures retreating in the distance, one flying clumsily compared to the rest. I always used to tease Max about being an uncoordinated flyer, but Derrick was making her look like the freaking Blue Angels. This doesn't sit well with me. A kindle of something reawakened in my core, helping me keep focus. I don't know how much time I had left, but I had to keep up with them in order to have some kind of hope in getting my body back.

But I was at an extreme disadvantage. Most of the Flock believed that Derrick-in-my-body was really me, and Max was undecided. I always had a chance in convincing her, but as long as they were in the air I had no way of communicating with her. Derrick was an experienced ghost, one who knew so much more to this non-life than I did. If there was some was of repossessing a Possession, he would have a better idea that me. Who would help me? The Flock can't. And I don't want Zeke to think that I can't handle this on my own.

Now what?

The flight was tense and awkward. I eventually caught up with Max, who was leading our formation. She had the strangest expression on her face; she looked concentrated. Now Max was always one who was planning escape routes in her head, thinking of plans, this was different. When we fly, it's like the most thrilling, most _right_ thing in the world. It's hard to forget that we have such screwed up lives when we're in the air. Seeing Max like this was unsettling.

Lagging behind, but pulling up slowly, was Derrick. He was definitely struggling on what was a routine flight. The weather was perfect, the air resistance up at our altitude hardly affecting us (not that I could really tell - I couldn't feel a thing). He was oscillating in the air, bobbing like a jug in the water. It was not only the funniest damn thing I've seen in my life, but I was also extremely furious. He was making me look bad!

Max finally seemed to notice his horrible flight when he narrowly escaped bumping into Gazzy, who shouted in protest. She turned around and glared at Derrick. "Hey, what's the matter with you?"

"You're not hurt again, are you Fang?" Nudge asked. I grimaced. She was referring to the time when I had been slashed open by Erasers and nearly bled to death in the air. Then I felt insulted. Even then I didn't fly _that_ bad.

Everyone's attention was now on Derrick, seeing whether he was clutching any part of his body, had a huge gaping wound, part of a wing missing... He was in one piece, which left everyone confused.

"Just...er, tired, I guess," he struggled to find something to say.

Max gave him a speculative look. I was so close to her that I wanted to scream in her ear that he wasn't really me, but just the ghost of a dead kid Possessing my body and running around like me.

Wow.

That made absolutely no sense.

See, that's what being dead does to you.

She seemed to accept this answer reluctantly, but she didn't make any indication of stopping for Derrick's benefit. I would have laughed, but I suddenly realized that if he dropped out of the sky from exhaustion, it would be my mangled body that I could never return to. Really, Derrick couldn't lose in this deal. I was so screwed.

While I imagined what strangling him might feel like, I noticed him staring at Max. A lot. Watching the way her wings beat powerfully through the air. The mess of her hair ruffled by the wind. The grace of her body... See, now he's got me fantasizing. I had more important things to do than think about Max. (Although once I figure out this whole body ordeal, she was definitely going back up to number 1 on the things I think about most). I was pissed before, but seeing him eyeing her up really made me wish I could punch something. If he tried any funny business with Max while in my body, I was going to make him wish that he had never wanted to live again.

I wasn't sure how long we had been in the sky, but eventually - and inevitably - Nudge blurted out, "Max, I'm hungry."

As if on cue, there was a universal rumbling of stomachs amongst the flock.

Max sighed. "Alright, we'll land." I knew that look on her face. We were already behind on the mission Jeb wanted us to complete, and stopping really wasn't helping us reach Virginia. But bird kids will be bird kids, and stomachs need to be fed. It's the way we were made.

The flock descended, and I hurried along with them. There was no way I was letting them out of my sight now.

* * *

The past twenty-four hours had been long for Max, and although she was exhausted and glad for the break, she really didn't want to stop. Of course she was relieved that Fang was back, but something didn't feel right. Maybe it was the way how he had just reappeared suddenly, or that he was acting strange. There was always the option that he had been kidnapped by the school and had his mind reprogrammed to want to kill us, but she didn't want to go too extreme like those crazy fanfiction kids.

Maybe she was just finding reasons to be mad at him. He had made her worried sick, leaving with no explanation. Did he not see what he meant to her? Did he not see the way he could bend her so easily? She had put a complete halt on their mission for him, and now he comes back and acts like nothing had happened.

Who the hell did Fang think he is?

In all honesty, the flock did need a break. The emotional wear is something that they hadn't experienced since our Hawaii adventure, and it had seemed like they hadn't had a breather since. This was a good time to recharge, but only that. She was going to make it clear that this was the last time they were stopping until they made camp tonight.

The Flock had eaten all their food during the last pit stop, so they had to stop at a convenient store to pick up light weight food that was full of calories and artery-clogging goodness. They landed carefully in a spot where no one from the streets could see them. Then they had to walk several blocks before they finally reached their destination. It was a long process, but a necessary one. Even though the world knew who they were, they still didn't like the attention. At least Max didn't, anyway.

Taking the flock anywhere with food was a cause for chaos. Especially when the flock was hungry, which they always were. The group chose their food quickly and exited with strange looks from the cashier. As they headed toward a quiet area in a nearby park, Fang stopped suddenly and pulled Max aside.

There was a snigger from the other bird kids.

Max glared at them, but was blushing furiously. Maybe this would finally be her chance to ask Fang what was really going on. Why he's been acting strange.

"Just remember, PDA and eating do not mix," Iggy warned jokingly.

"You're blind," Max grumbled under her breath, still scarlet red.

She couldn't help but notice the strange look in Fang's eyes, like he was seeing her for the first time all over again. But he also looked calculating, sly. This was far different from the Fang she was used to.

Something didn't feel right.

Fang took a step toward her, smirking wickedly. "Max, I'm sorry that I was gone-"

"Don't waste your breath," Max said, not knowing why she was acting this way with him. After all, she did _love_ him. Why was she suddenly being cold?

"Where were you?" she asked suddenly.

"Um..." He was at a loss for words, which was really what tipped her off that something was definitely not right. This... person was not Fang. He make look like Fang and sound like him, but the real Fang was not there. "I was, uh..."

"What did they do to you?" Her voice was not sympathetic or consolidating. It was harsh, demanding.

Fang was caught off guard. "Does it matter where I was as long as I'm here with you now?" he asked suddenly.

Max thought before responding. "It depends... You're not Fang II, or you haven't been brainwashed at all to want to kill me and the Flock, have you?"

He furrowed his brow in confusion. _Oh, great, maybe he really is Fang II_, Max thought.

"Look, just forget it, okay? We really need to eat now," she said.

This response did not seem to satisfy Fang. He stuck out his arm to block her path.

Max shot him a look. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He stood his ground, even though she had used her leader voice. That took a lot of guts, Max noted. But he had made the wrong decision.

Right when she was about to strike - playfully or forcefully, Max hadn't decided yet - Fang swooped in to kiss her greedily.

At first her body froze. It totally felt like Fang's lips, but the way he was forcing her was just... so un-Fang-like. They were in sync now, knowing of each other's needs and desires with just a glance. The way he attacked her lips, pushed his tongue into her mouth, and wound his arms tightly on her back was just too much for her. This wasn't sweet or passionate. It was disgusting.

She shoved him with so much force that it caught him off guard. He staggered to the ground, flushed and satisfied and confused. Max stood over him, breathing heavily, her lips red and swollen from the kiss.

"What the hell, Fang?"

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, clearly puzzled.

But she was beyond words now. Her anger was so acute that she had to get away from him before she did something stupid. Something that might hurt the both of them.

He rose to his feet and bounded after her, grabbing her arm. "Hey!"

"Get off of me!" Max shouted.

By now the flock had become aware of what was going on, each of their heads turned toward the spectacle that Fang and Max were putting on. While each looked confused, Angel's expression was one of pure suspect. She frowned, looking as though she was concentrating deeply.

Fang's grip on Max's arm tightened, but suddenly there was a _whoosh_ in the air. A cry of pain escaped from Fang, and he released Max as he grasped the back of his head.

She stalked away, but not before noticing the rock that was now by Fang's feet.

She wanted to be alone. It didn't matter that she was hungry, or that she had been through the emotional strain of Fang's disappearance. Now that he was back, it was like he was a stranger, and she couldn't deal with him or anyone right now.

She jumped into the air suddenly, not caring who saw her, and flew off with her hyperspeed. She hoped that no one was following her, but she didn't bother to check if they had.

When she had finally grown tired, she descended to a quiet area and sat slumped in a tree. She didn't want to think, but the thoughts crept up on her anyway. What had happened to Fang? Why had he changed so quickly? When she found out what the School did to them, she was going to-

Her thinking was pulled up short by a strange movement from the ground. A stick was moving seemingly by itself, tracing a large pattern on the ground. Words.

Max watched with shocked but tense eyes, taking in each word as it was spelled out on the ground. Once the writing had stopped, it took all her strength not too fall out of the tree:

_That was not Fang. I am._

_

* * *

_**So, if you haven't already seen my rant on my profile, please do so soon to see a (sort of) explanation for my absence. Truth be told, there is not reason not to keep writing. May that be a lesson to everyone. :P Myself included. I had some free time tonight, and I thought I'd finish up this chapter even if it sucks. Like, seriously sucks. I can't write anymore because of this freaking writing class that I'm in. It is completely insane. We had a 5-page paper on whether we thought certain law proposals were or were not Constitutional. Gah! That class will be the death of me. If I'm not brain dead by the end of the year, I'll be amazed. I will try my best to keep updating, but it's hard with all this work.**

**-biteoutoflife-**

**P.S. college sucks. **


	13. Chapter 12 Truth

Chapter 12 - Truth

I felt as if I had made a breakthrough. I wasn't sure, but somehow I had managed to convince Max that the Fang she had just been with wasn't really me. And I'd also accomplished letting her know that I was still with her. She may not have understood everything, but she accepted it.

How awesome is my girlfriend?

I didn't tell her all the details, because it would be pretty confusing. Hell, I'm still confused with everything. But somehow in our strange, messed up lives, there was a part of us as mutant bird kids that made believing in anything possible. I can't tell you what Max is thinking at this precise moment, because I'm not _that_ talented (or that dead), but there was going to be hell to pay when she meets Derrick. Maybe she thought I had permanently become invisible and couldn't find a way out of it. Maybe she knows that some strange separation between my body and my spirit occurred. There was no way to convey that with words.

So we were heading back to the flock.

At least, that's what I was pretty sure Max was doing. While she may be convinced I could read her mind, I really only knew her well enough to know the way she thinks. I unfortunately do not have Angel's skills.

As we flew back, I did some quick mental calculations. We were never ones for math, although our natural bird instinct made us experts with trajectory and wind resistance, angles and air flows. It had been over twenty-four hours since I had first found out that I was dead. The sky had just darkened, and by the angle of the moon in the sky, we had about four hours before midnight. Did the two-day deadline mean that I had forty-eight hours or until midnight? Ugh. If I weren't on the verge of getting my body back, I would pop back to visit Zeke to get some more questions answered, but I guess I had some things to decide on my own. I was never one to ask people to solve my problems for me, and I shouldn't pester him any longer. It was time that I took the initiative to get my body back.

Whether it killed me for good or not.

When we got back to the Flock, it wasn't exactly the scene I had expected. If things had gone the easy way, the others would have wrangled in Derrick like a cow, which would only have left us the problem of getting me back into my body. However, because life never worked that way for a dead mutant bird kid, the scene we arrived on was much more different than I would have liked.

Iggy was lying down with his torso propped against a tree trunk, major cuts on the side of his head bleeding. Nudge, looking flustered, was dabbing at his wounds. Gazzy was occupied with Angel, who appeared to have been knocked out cold. Derrick was no where to be seen.

Max landed and ran over to the others, her expression a strange combination of concern, rage, and crazed.

"What happened?" she demanded, coming up to Angel and Gazzy, who had tears in his eyes.

"Fang attacked us," he said, clearly shaken. "After Angel threw that rock at him and you took off, he turned and attacked Angel."

"We had no idea what was going on," Nudge added, her voice wavering. "I was so shocked. I⎯I couldn't move. Then he turned on Iggy, and by then we finally tried to fight back, he ran off." She choked back a sob. "Why would Fang do that?"

"That coward," Iggy mumbled around a swollen lip.

I took great offense to that, even if it wasn't me who attacked the Flock.

"Guys, as strange as it sounds, that person who attacked us wasn't Fang," Max said slowly.

Three pairs of eyes bugged.

"That must have been why Angel freaked," Gazzy concluded. "She _knew_. She saw it in his mind..."

The realization caught up with Nudge and Iggy.

"But if that wasn't Fang, than where is the real Fang?" Nudge asked.

Max took a deep, steadying breath. "The real Fang is here, with me right now," she said, as if trying to convince herself that the statement was true.

I knew I had to support her even if she couldn't see me. In the ground, I wrote out the word: '_Right'._

Nudge gasped. "Oh my, God! That _wasn't _Fang. Than who was that?"

"It wasn't Fang II, was it?" Iggy wondered, sounding rather annoyed.

Max sighed. "I don't think so."

"Fang?" Gazzy asked.

I was surprised that he addressed me personally.

'_What?_' I wrote.

"Who⎯who was..._is_ that other Fang? What happened to you that we can't see you but we can see him as you?"

I sighed, which caused a chill to blow over the Flock. Each of them shivered for a second.

We heard a small groan, and Angel's face contorted in pain.

"Angel!" Gazzy shouted.

Max ran over to her and propped the small girl up slowly.

"Ugh," she breathed, looking extremely tired.

"So what's this brilliant explanation, _Fang_?" Iggy asked.

I wrote, '_I'm not in my body. Derrick is.'_

This statement really confused everyone. Nudge whispered what I wrote into Iggy's ear.

"How is that even possible?" Max asked, sounding really peeved and really tired at the same time. "Is this some new skill you developed? Body switching? Why can't you switch back?"

'_It's not that easy.'_

"Explain quickly, because as soon as we find out what we're up against, we're searching for whoever this 'Derrick' guy is."

'_I can't switch back because I'm⎯' _I didn't get to finish what I was writing.

"Dead," Angel whispered, as silent as the grave.

Max's breath caught in her throat. The night seemed to have stopped dead by the statement. It was too impossible to believe. (But so was the existence of mutant bird kids, so, hey, anything is possible.)

"What?" Max said, not believing what she heard.

Angel nodded slowly. "I heard it in his⎯_Derrick's_⎯mind. He thought that if he waited long enough in Fang's body, than he can be alive again. Then he thought something that I didn't quite understand. Something about Fang being permanently dead if he could Possess Fang's body long enough..."

What was the point in me trying to explain anything when Angel appeared to have had the whole story covered? Maybe having a mind-reading bird kid in the Flock wasn't so bad, after all.

I could see Max trying to appear composed after discovering the truth. "So if you could read Derrick's mind, why can't you read Fang's?"

"I don't know," she admitted, looking frustrated. "I guess it's because Derrick is technically living, now that he is in Fang's body, and that Fang is⎯"

"Dead?" Gazzy guessed.

She nodded again. "I still don't get how it happened, though."

"_None_ of us do," Iggy observed.

"The only time we have ever dealt with dead people coming back to life was with Ari," Nudge whispered.

Max stiffened.

"And we had no idea how that happened," Gazzy said. "How can scientists bring someone back to life? Did the whitecoats have anything to do with Fang's death."

"I don't think so," Angel said.

'_No._' I wrote.

"So no whitecoats?"

'_Nope._'

"Then why are you dead?" Gazzy asked.

How to explain this simply? Any way I put it, it would really only bring up more questions, and we really couldn't afford to lose any more time at this point. Despite Derrick's horrible flying skills, he was still putting major distance between us when we weren't moving anywhere. And we had no idea what direction he took off in. He could be anywhere...

I had a brilliant idea, and it was just crazy enough to work.

'_Expiration date went off early._'

"So that's it?" Max nearly shouted. "So you're dead...for good?"

I knew she'd take it hard. If only I could verbally explain everything, then we'd be out of here a lot faster and they might actually begin to understand.

'_Not unless I don't get my body back, and soon.'_

I was tempted to add a '_brb'_ at the end of that statement, because I _was_ going to pop out for a second. If we needed to find where Derrick had flew off, I was going to Teleport to him and then go back to direct the Flock. _Go to Derrick_, I thought, and then I suddenly appeared in the sky, floating below a frantic bird kid.

I looked so much different than I imagined when I flew, but then I just assumed that it was because Derrick was such a bad flier. He was honestly trying his hardest, but it was pretty pathetic. I laughed at him.

Based off of the position of the river and the way the stream was traveling, he was heading south. It wouldn't take long to catch up with him from where the Flock was, but that didn't mean that our job would be any easier. We still had to catch him, and then find a way for me to repossess my body. I Teleported back to the Flock.

'_Derrick's going south' _I wrote quickly. '_Leave now.'_

I wasn't sure if the Flock had noticed my absence, but they seemed to take my directions seriously.

"Just remember guys," Max told everyone as they prepared for take off. "That isn't the real Fang. Just try to capture him, because we don't want anything bad to happen to his body." I smiled. Somehow, she knew exactly what I was thinking, even though I couldn't relay this information to her personally.

"Okay, up and away."

* * *

**Sooo, where to begin? It's 1:15 in the morning, I'm on Skype with my bf, and I'm sitting in my room in the PA instead of NY. I'm going back to school on Sunday, and sadly I have some papers to write, which will occupy me for the next few days. I'm sorry this update took long, but I'm determined to finish this story before I do any more work on "Anything But Easy". I can't split my focus between multiple Fanfictions at the moment. NaNo has only a few more days, and I'm currently on pace to finish on time, so that's be one less thing to deal with, although finals are coming up soon. Wish me luck!**

**I didn't take time to review the chapter, so if there are typos, I apologize.**

**-biteoutoflife-**


	14. Chapter 13 Death

Chapter 13 - Death

Miraculously, we were moving as a Flock again through the air. Okay, it wasn't quite the same, because I wasn't really mean, but I think you get what I'm trying to say. I couldn't quite say that I knew what they were feeling, but I sort of got the understanding that they _felt_ me with them, even if they couldn't see me. My presence brought us strength, not to sound egotistical or anything—although Max always did complain about my big head—but we were all together with the somewhat-realization of what has been going on. I'm not quite me, but at the same time I am, which seemed to be enough at the present moment.

I wonder how weird the confrontation with Derrick would be. It's pretty creepy knowing that someone else in my body would be fighting against the Flock. I knew how _I_ felt when we faced Max II, but there was a difference, too. She wasn't _the_ Max, so it didn't quite matter what happened to her. This _was_ my body, however. What happens to my body if I'm beaten up badly? Will the Flock hold out because it would seem like they're fighting me? (Even thought it is pretty obvious with the personality difference that Derrick is not me.)

As we flew together in determinedly, faster than I think I had ever seen us fly together (except for maybe when we were escaping Erasers), we came upon a shape in the sky.

It wasn't too uncommon for us to be flying above or with objects in the sky, like birds or helicopters or airplanes, but this one was very recognizable to us. Lanky, dark, and awkward. There was no mistaking the object for Derrick. If I had any breath in my spirit, it would have hitched. I don't think I've ever been as nervous in my life about anything as much as I am now. Sure, whitecoats and Eraser fights and hospitals are up there, too, but this meant a lot more.

Okay, maybe they all meant life or death for mutant bird kids, but I think you catch my drift.

In all those other situations, at least there was a way to escape. Now, not only were we unsure with how to handle the situation, but the reality of death hit me so much harder than it had before. If I couldn't get my body back, then I _would_ be dead. For good. I couldn't stand another hour in Dead School let alone a lifetime. Or at least however long it took for me to pass on to the other side, whatever that was. Hell, purgatory, heaven. I knew I could probably do some hard time in purgatory, but I'd rather live my life a little longer before I reached that step.

"Okay, guys, lets plan our attack," Max said through tight teeth. I could tell she wasn't as happy about having to attack me. It was like that time I had to watch her fight Max II. Knew it was necessary, but it was hard to see just the same. Except she didn't have to fight against the person she loved that time. This was going to be difficult on the both of us.

"Although he is in Fang's body and has Fang's strength, this _ghost_ probably has no idea how to use his powers," Max observed.

"Psh...he could hardly _fly_," Gazzy added.

"I say we come in from above and surround him from all angles. When he tries going down, someone will swoop below and cut off his route to the ground. We'll want to take him in the air." Her voice was grim.

The rest of the Flock could feel her solemnity, but they each looked determined. I was glad they understood what they needed to do and were willing to fight _me_, even if it totally wasn't me.

"Let's do this!" in a flash, Gazzy and Angel shot forward, gaining on the distance between themselves and the dud-like Derrick in the air. They were directly above him, a good distance higher, although he hadn't noticed there presence yet. Max then nodded toward Nudge, and she tapped Iggy's hand and the two went ahead. They came to flank him on either side. We were close enough to hear their exchange.

"Miss us?" Nudge asked sweetly, coming alongside Derrick. His flaps became uneven, causing him to drop slightly.

I kept my eyes on Max, who looked intentionally determined, almost to stiff. I knew that if we settled this whole ordeal, I would pay for it later.

When Derrick made a downward movement, Max shot in with her powerful wings and cut off his path.

"Where do you think you're going?" she said in her toughest voice.

Derrick glowered at her, but then his face contorted into a strange grin. "I was just coming back to you, babe?"

_I'm gonna kill that kid_, I thought to myself, seeing red, somehow.

Max grimaced. "_No one_ calls me 'babe', not even Fang," she almost spat. I understood how pissed she was, and boy, was he gonna get it.

"But I am Fang," he persisted stubbornly. _Wrong answer_, I thought with a laugh.

"Don't play games. We know who you are, _Derrick_!"

That really caught the kid off guard. He looked as pale as a...ghost. Ha-ha, I know, I'm so funny.

"Now!" Max shouted, and the Flock converged on Derrick.

Derrick was really in trouble now. The coordinated Flock swooped around him, attempting to confuse him. From above, Angel and Gazzy curled in their wings and dropped on his back like two bird-kid bullets. Their combined weight and velocity knocked the wind out of him and he dropped several hundred feet, forgetting to flap.

"Oh no you don't!" Max said as Derrick came whirling down toward her. Not able to catch himself in time, he fell right at Max when she pulled back her fist and caught him with an uppercut under the chin. I saw the blood flow from his mouth.

_Ouch_, I though, reliving the glory days of our fights with Erasers. I'm glad I wasn't the one taking that blow. I'd also had enough sparring incidents with Max to know what that felt like firsthand.

This time, though, he managed to unfurl his wings and catch an air current, keeping himself aloft.

"Iggy, Nudge!" Max commanded, not needing to explain what they were needed to do. The pair flew at Derrick from opposite directions, meaning to hit him with a powerful strike—

Unlike the last two blows, he anticipated this and tucked in his wings, dropping like a sack while Iggy and Nudge continued at each other at full speed. The managed to pull back enough to lessen the blow, but they still ran into each other and dropped instantly.

Max dove toward Iggy and Nudge, which Gazzy and Angel mimicked, knowing that their help would be needed. They were able to come under the wounded pair enough to support their weight until they felt good enough to fly by themselves.

While all this was going on, I watched as Derrick continued toward the ground, looking to make his get away.

Shit.

My whole life I was the silent, non-emotional rock, but when I finally had something important to share, I couldn't communicate it to the Flock. This was just my luck, wasn't it? Why did the universe hate me?

Max noticed at that moment where Derrick was, and she was _not_ happy. "Dammit! We need to follow him. You guys okay?" she addressed Nudge and Iggy.

"Think so," said Iggy unsteadily.

"Just a headache," Nudge replied. "Nothing major."

_Troopers_, I thought, hoping they would hear me.

"Okay, let's go," Max said, and they descended upon Derrick as quickly as they could. They were able to trace where he landed well, but by the time we hit the ground, Derrick had already disappeared.

"Ugh," Gazzy grunted. "He's good."

"Not quite," said Angel, looking rather smug. "I can still hear his thoughts, however confusing they are."

"Where is he?" Max asked, eyes scanning all the possible paths from where they were.

"Right here," said my voice, although we all knew it was Derrick.

The Flock whirled on him, and even I had been caught by surprise. Apparently he discovered my ability to blend in with my surroundings. But there I was, standing thirty feet from the Flock, with a bloody lip that was swelling, looking like an Avenging Angel (do I really need to point out how ironic that sounds?). He didn't look the least bit intimidated now, even though he was outnumbered five-to-one, plus one ghost.

He must have had something up his sleeve.

"This ends now, Derrick, just you and me," Max said, stepping forward.

"Wow, that was snappy, missy," he jeered. "Did you get that line from a movie?"

As he snickered, Max glared daggers at him. "If I win, you'll give Fang his body back?"

He didn't stop laughing. "You see, _babe_, there are two problems with your plan. The first being that you really only have a couple hours before your precious little Fangy-poo will be dead _for good_."

I swore that each member of the Flock held their breath, myself included, even though I didn't have to breathe.

"And the second thing is, if you hurt me in any way, you also hurt Fang."

Max's eyes widened, and I was seriously getting extra-pissed with Derrick. Not only was he refusing to fight a _girl_ (I mean, I know it's Max, but _he_ might not know her reputation), but he was also holding out for my 48 hours to run out and then _lied_ about a physical connection between us. _I'm freaking dead!_ I can't feel anything that happens.

But I couldn't tell the Flock that. At least, it would be really inconvenient to write it out in the sand.

But then that got me thinking. Only a couple hours left...I couldn't let this kid get away scotch clean, torturing the Flock by leading them to believe that hurting him would hurt me. Which it obviously _wouldn't_. I mean, I already died, but that didn't stop Derrick from being able to possess my body. Even if I were to die again, what would stop me from being able to take it over again...

Oh. My. God.

I knew what they had to do.

I quickly ducked to the ground and wrote in the sand, right in front of Max, '_You have to kill me_.'

* * *

**I am SO sorry about not getting to this story sooner. I knew what I had to write, I just couldn't make myself do it. After this chapter, there really is only two more and then Ghost of Me is finito. Done. I can't believe it's almost done, although it should have been finished a long time ago. I really am sorry for that. I blame college. :P**

**With ANGEL just coming out, I actually pasted a lengthy Author's Note on my "Anything But Easy" story, which contains my thoughts and some other random things about the story. You might want to check it out if you have time. If not, that's cool, too. What did you guy's think about the book? Love it, hate it, not sure what to make of it? Ranting is always fun!**

**Please review!**

**-biteoutoflife-  
**


	15. Chapter 14 Life

Chapter 14 - Life

Max stared at the words blindly, as if she had never read anything before in her life. While they clicked in her mind, she understood what it said, she couldn't bring herself to process the implications. '_You have to kill me_.' It might have been easier if it was an Eraser or a whitecoat or a Flyboy or dumb-bot she was facing, but it wasn't. She _knew_ that it wasn't Fang she was facing, and that the real Fang was some sort of ghost that was with them at the present moment, but fighting his body would be extremely difficult. She had never had a problem sparring with him in the past, and she could even live with having to beat his sorry little butt in front of everyone. But _kill_ him? What if something went wrong? What if, by killing Derrick, she would keep Fang dead forever as well?

It all came down to who she trusted more, Fang or Derrick. It may have been a stupid question, but the end result of this choice could result in Fang's permanent death.

And she wasn't sure she could handle that.

All these thoughts passed in her mind in the span of a couple seconds as she looked at the words Fang had traced in the dirt.

Derrick finally seemed to notice that Max's attention, as well as the rest of the Flock's, was not on him. He tried to see what they were all looking at, but he was too far away. All he could gather was through their shocked expressions that it wasn't anything good.

Max gulped. Whether she wanted to or not, she still had to face off with Derrick, one-on-one. And she only had a couple hours before the reversal could still be performed. Time was ticking, and she wasn't helping herself, the Flock, or Fang by standing around.

God, she hoped she was strong enough emotionally to kill him.

_We're here for you, Max_, a small voice said in her mind.

She turned to look at Angel, who had a sad smile on her face. All the Flock had varying degrees of dismay or stoicism on their face, and Max knew she had to be strong for all of them. This really was their only choice if they wanted to get Fang back.

She turned back to look at the black eyes she knew so well, now belonging to a complete stranger. _You'll pay for what you've done to Fang_, she thought to herself, knowing that neither Derrick nor Fang could hear her. Anger, white and hot, flashed in her vision, and she wanted nothing more than to make Derrick suffer for what he had put their family through.

Taking a step forward, she beckoned him with two fingers. "We fight now." Her voice was quiet, deadly. She had never been this determined in her life. Messing with innocent people was one thing, messing with family was another. Especially when that family member was Fang... She tried not to blush to save herself from embarrassment. No. She couldn't. Not in front of him.

A sadistic glimmer shone in his dark eyes. "_Just_ you and me. No funny business from the rest of your Flock."

She nodded. "You have my word."

Gazzy and Iggy looked a little disappointed, but when someone messed with Fang, they also had to answer to Max. That was just the way it worked, especially after they made their relationship official.

"Let the games begin," he said with more amusement than Fang could muster, and he shot forward at lightning speed. He tried stabbing at her as fast and hard as possible, so much different from Fang's fighting style, who was calculated and waiting for the right opportunity. Derrick was all power, while Fang was all finesse.

She dodged the strikes skillfully, but not without some difficulty. With Fang's agileness, his reflexes were fast, probably faster than he was used to having. She found it difficult to get out of the way of one fist before another one would be there to hit where she was moving to. Right when he kept aiming for her head, he caught her off guard with a quick strike to her gut, raising the bile in the back of her throat and making her organs scream in pain. Derrick allowed himself a small, satisfied smile, which was a huge mistake on his part.

She planted a roundhouse kick to his head.

She saw blood run from his mouth as he fell to the floor limply.

For a moment, she couldn't move. What if Fang felt Derrick's pain? What if anything she did to him permanently affected Fang? But she couldn't make herself think like that. _No, you have to trust Fang, _she reminded herself. _Fang said it was okay..._

Wanting to catch him off guard, she jumped where he was lying on the floor. Derrick, only feigning injury, rolled out of the way and shot a kick that took out her legs from behind. She came crashing to the ground, the air in her lungs leaving in a rush.

"C'mon, Max, you can do it!" Nudge shouted.

"Yeah, get him!" Gazzy called.

The rest of the Flock showed varying signs of support through their comment to her.

Derrick had gotten back to his feet, and, very slowly, Max brought herself up to face him. He looked a little frazzled, but otherwise his face showed determination.

"The clock's ticking, Maxie," he taunted, a jeering smile on his face.

A cool, hard chill passed through her, as if the world around her had just dropped thirty degrees. A tremor shot through her toes and worked its way up through her spin. She shook as it overcame her, but once it passed, a warmth unlike nothing else settled in her. The comfort it brought made her feel reenergized, strong.

_Fang_.

She wasn't sure if it was the Voice, Angel, or her own subconsciousness, but the acknowledgement came nonetheless. She could _feel_ him, and with this new enlightenment, she knew what she had to do. His support was enough to make her kill Derrick.

She moved swiftly toward Derrick. When she was within striking range, he stuck out his fist at her face, to which she held out both arms in a block. With his other hand, he swung at her side and made contact with a rib. She hissed in pain, but but used the anger it instilled in her to lash out at his face. The first blow was blindingly fast; he had no way of blocking it. He stumbled backwards, but she kept on him, landing blow after blow to his face. When she was going to deliver the final blow, he surprised her by catching his fist. Her eyes widened.

Clutching to her hand as if it was life support, he twisted her arm at a painful angle. His knuckles turned white and he gritted his teeth with the effort. She fell to the ground on her knees, holding her wrist to her chest delicately.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the rest of the Flock getting fidgety. They wanted to help, but that just wasn't fair. This was a matter between her and Derrick.

_Keep them calm_, she thought to Angel, hoping she was listening to her thoughts.

She didn't have time to look if they had been given her orders as Derrick came back at her. While on her knees, she charged him before he could duck down to strike; she wrapped her arms around his legs and tackled him to the ground. They tumbled over each other, almost as if in a synchronized set of body rolls, each battling for superiority.

When they separated, they both hopped to their feet and squared themselves to fight again.

Jumping into the air with all her strength, she managed to flip over Derrick's head and land behind him. Before he could react, she kicked him in between his wings. She and the Flock could hear the breath rush out of his lungs as he crumbled to the ground, face first.

"Get him now, Max!" Angel shouted, looking anxiously at something in front of her. The rest of the Flock noticed it, too, and were watching the ground with worry. Max only figured that it was some message from Fang, telling them that she needed to hurry up because of time. She gritted her teeth—why couldn't there be a giant scoreboard that kept a clock of how much time Fang had left? This way she would know for sure whether she had a matter of seconds or minutes. How much time _was_ left?

She meant to jump on top of Derrick, but he scrambled back to his feet and did the one thing he probably shouldn't have done—shot to the air. He avoided her momentarily, but the air was Max's territory. She flew after him.

With her hypersonic speed, she caught up to him in a matter of seconds. Coming up from behind, she elbowed him between the wings again, hoping he was feeling especially sore from her previous strike. He dropped several feet, but before he could fall too much, she swooped below him and kicked his chest. He clutched at the spot where she had kicked him, but managed to flap his wings to keep afloat.

"C'mon, Maxie, be glad you have me instead of _no_ Fang," he persuaded. "Your time to get your precious boyfriend back is almost up. And even if you _could_ find a way to do it, you should be glad that you still have _someone _in your fellow birdkid's body. Having me is better than not having Fang at all!" His eyes were dark, fiery, excited. Something that Fang would have never been able to do. Even if someone was in his body, he could never fill the void that Fang would leave behind in his death.

Max was seeing red. She had to control her emotions so as to not allow the tears that pricked in the back of her eyes to spill. Through all the thoughts that were spiraling through her brain, only one was able to escape her lips.

"Why would you do this?"

The question hung in the air between them. It seemed as if time had stood still, allowing them both time to examine the situation they were in. If time ran out, Derrick would stay in Fang's body forever. If she could kill him, then hopefully his body wouldn't be too mangled for Fang's ghost to take it over again. The question is, though, what sick soul would try to ruin someone's life like the way Derrick was doing to Fang and the Flock?

Derrick pressed his lips together tightly, the tautness causing them to turn white. The skin around his eye crinkled out of anger. His chest heaved in rage, and Max knew she had just opened a flood gate.

"Why?" He asked, screaming. "_Why?_ Because _he_ got the chance to live again! _None of us got that chance!_ Why do you always get exemptions from the rules, just because you're fucking _mutants_? You should have to have the same fate as _the rest of us!_"

He flew straight at her, head butting her in the chest. She almost swore she heard a rib crack. _Damn, I knew Fang was hard-headed, but that's ridiculous_, she thought as she swore aloud.

He kept his momentum forward, forcing both of them toward the trunk of a gigantic tree. She knew she was in trouble if she didn't act fast. Reaching forward, she was able to stretch her arms out enough—ignoring the pain in her ribs—and grabbed his wings. They were powerful and fierce, glinting purple in the afternoon sun, but grabbed them at the joint, ruining the pattern of their flaps.

They descended quickly.

Derrick seemed to be choking with rage and fear, but Max noticed their closeness to the trees and figured they would likely hit one before they hit the ground. Acting fast, she pushed his wings forward and flipped them mid-air so that he was approaching the tree.

"Wha—?" he managed to get out before the collided with the massive trunk. He absorbed most of the blow for her, and she could hear the sickening crack of bones within his body. She winced, feeling horrible. _It's not Fang, it's not Fang_, she chanted to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to get over it.

She let go of Derrick, who looked unconscious, and flapped to keep herself aloft. He dropped limply through the air, and all Max could do was watch. Tears rose in her eyes, but she dared not let them spill. Even if it wasn't Fang, she could hardly live with herself for killing anyone that was not an Eraser or a whitecoat. He may have been dead, but he hardly deserved a second death like that.

When she heard the body land on the ground, she tucked her wings and shot toward him. The site was not pretty. Fang's body was bent at strange angles, and there were branches and leaves that clung to his hair and clothes. She bit her lip, tasting blood, to keep from breaking down right then and there. It was almost too much for her to take in.

The rest of the Flock came poring in through the trees, and, upon seeing Fang there, gasped. Nudge put her hand to her mouth and started to cry. Max wondered if they were all thinking the same thing—that there was no way Fang could use this body again.

"Let's straighten him out," Max said flatly, trying to ignore the void inside that was threatening to rip open if they were too late or if it was impossible for Fang to live again in that body. She and Iggy worked to pull him into a normal position, laying him on the ground, straight and stiff. His body was cold and lifeless, so at least they knew that Derrick didn't possess it anymore. Max pulled Fang's head onto her lap, brushing his shaggy bangs away from his closed eyes.

"Fang?" she whispered, hoping that Fang had been able to get back in.

"Do you think he was following us?" Iggy asked, looking around, as if Fang's ghost was suddenly going to appear for them.

"I thought I felt him with us," Angel said softly, crying silently. "He wouldn't _not_ give up this opportunity."

Max remembered when she felt Fang with her during the battle, and she shivered.

"Fang," she tried again, hoping that he was just adjusting to being back in his body—or teasing them.

After a tense moment, in which the five birdkids held their breath, Fang started shifting uneasily. A low, pained groan sounded in his throat. Very, very carefully, he opened one eye in a slit, as if the light stung his eyes. He looked up, eye focusing on Max blearily, and smirked that special smile that she loved so much.

"What's up, guys?"

* * *

**Only one more chapter. I can't believe that it's almost done (once again, I know it should have been done a long time ago...), but it's always sad to see them end. I rather like "Ghost of Me", especially when it's parodying "Ghost Girl". But I assure you, pretty much the next chapter wraps things up and will be a little mushy (Yay Fax! Awww). It was actually really fun writing this chapter, even though it was pretty serious.**

**To anyone who reads "Anything But Easy", you'll see that I mentioned something about starting this crazy list called "100 Things That Won't Happen in MR 8". It's very random, supposedly funny, and I need viewer input for future additions to the list (because I really only have so much funny within me). Here are some examples of the complete randomness of it:**

**~Fang cries...and wears white**

**~Ella performs a strip tease at a show in Vegas.**

**~Nudge becomes a national recording artists and produces 500 albums that go gold over the span of three months.**

**Just so you guys have some idea of what it's like. It's not a story, just a funny list. Like the idea? Love the idea? Tell me in a review or on the poll on my profile!**

**Please review!**

**-biteoutoflife-**


	16. Epilogue

Epilogue - Destiny

To say that my dreams were restless that night was an understatement. I kept getting images that flashed through my mind, ranging from hell to heaven to my fellow bird-kids flying through the sky alongside me. Part of the problem was that I couldn't tell which dreams were real and which were not, and that part really ate at me. I just wanted some answers, you know? Like why did I have to go through this experience? And why had I been given a second chance? It didn't seem likely that I would be getting answers to these any time soon, even though I would always have to live with these questions in my subconscious.

Next to me, I heard a moan, and my grip tightened immediately. Max was lying beside me, high up in a tree, with Iggy on watch not too far away. After I had come back, it was very difficult for me to leave her side, just as she was extremely reluctant to have me our of her sight. Not that I didn't particularly mind this, but after what we had been through, it was going to take a while for things to get back to normal.

Her dreams seemed just as restless as mine.

I wasn't surprised to see her looking at me, once I turned my head in her direction. "Hey," she whispered, even though I was sure Iggy could hear us anyway.

"Hey," I replied.

Neither of us really knew what to say, but the silence seemed to fill in the blanks. _We __were __glad __that __I__'__m __back __with __the __flock, __we__'__re __glad __to __have __each __other __back, __we__'__re __glad __that __I__'__m __not __dead..._

It was still rather odd wrapping my mind around that one. I was _dead_. And not only that, but someone's spirit had Possessed my body for some time, too. It made me feel a little uncomfortable in my own skin, especially since I knew the slime had kissed her.

As if to assure myself that I were still here, I leaned over and kissed her. She was a little surprised at first in her grogginess, but the kiss was bringing back a sense of awareness. I don't think either of us wanted to move for a while, but there were still some things that needed to be said between us.

"What was it like?" she finally asked, not quite meeting my eyes. She was tucked into my side nicely, my one arm around her shoulder and the other had the hand intwined with hers.

I knew what she meant. "Weird, but cool in its own way. I had these powers, more than I probably even knew. But I could remember everything, and I didn't want that to be the way I died. I didn't want to have to spend an eternity in a school where I learned how to be dead."

"And how'd you get back? I mean, why did you get a second chance?" Even though her voice was rather subdued, I could hear the urgency in it, as if this was what she really wanted to know. I knew she was glad that I had gotten that opportunity, but this wasn't something that happened on a regular basis. Not anyone could just come back from the dead.

"Zeke said it was because I had died before I was supposed to," I replied, looking out towards the sea of leaves and branches that enveloped us, high up in the sky. "But I don't quite accept that as an answer."

"Maybe there's another reason, some way you are supposed to die in the future, one that will help set the world right." I'm not sure if she was voicing this to herself or towards our conversation, but the statement hung there, pregnant and gripping. Was that it, then? There was something else I'm supposed to fulfill that needs me here? If that's the case, why didn't Zeke just zap me back into my body as soon as I had died?

I didn't know what to say, so I just let the silence fall back between us. I rested my head on hers and tried to go back to sleep before the subject came back up in the night.

* * *

I couldn't say how long it was after, but at some point I started to see a white light. Someone was approaching me, but I couldn't tell who it was. I poised myself for attack, but once he got closer, I couldn't help but let down my defenses. "Zeke?"

Shit. That meant I was dead again. So much for Max's idea about me having another purpose.

"Hello there, Fang," he said brightly, in that same white suit that matched this white location we were in.

"Please don't tell me that I'm dead again," I said, feeling my fists clench reflexively.

"Oh, no, you're not dead," he laughed, "I just through I'd come visit you, see how you were doing."

"Don't act like you don't know." But even I was smirking now. This guy had too much zeal to be angry at for long.

"You said you wanted answers, so I'm here with them." He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood before me, not quite as tall as me, but his body was large enough to be a little imposing.

"Was what you said true? About me getting to come back because I died before I was supposed to?"

He laughed. "Yes...and no. It's part of the truth, but not entirely."

I nodded once. "Then what Max said earlier..."

"Ah, yes, about that," he said, his eyes piercing through him. "I know she didn't mean to say it, but lets just say that she's not entirely off. You have your own purpose, Fang, one that you need to fulfill. And the only way that it can happen is if you are alive."

"Then why did I have to go through this whole process? Why did I have to die if I was just going to be brought back to life anyway?"

He shrugged at this point. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe the Big Man wanted to see if your will was strong enough to complete your mission. Whether you were ready to accomplish it. I think you proved yourself worthy of whatever is ahead for you. Just don't waste any opportunity, Fang. You're alive, when so many others have to live with their regret. You get to be with the girl you love again. Don't screw this up."

I didn't know what to say at first, but then I choked out, "What _is _my purpose, then?"

"I still think you need to figure that one out for yourself. It's hardly destiny if I guide you toward that path."

I was shocked awake, gasping as the break of dawn was coming over the tree line. For the next few moments, I tried to catch my breath. So maybe there is some other purpose out there for me, but I wasn't given the answer...now I must know what it feels like to be Max, to have someone in your head who answers your questions in a way that only arouses more. Either way, he made it pretty clear that there is something I need to do, but whatever it is, I will have to figure it out myself.

Max was awake now, on her line of watch after Iggy had went to sleep. She gave me a questioning look, but I shook my head. I couldn't press this issue now, not when I was trying to figure it out for myself.

For now, my purpose is to keep the Flock and Max as close to me as possible.

* * *

**I'm sorry for the long wait. I literally tried writing this chapter three or four different times, but I never liked the way it would turn out. I'm very satisfied with this epilogue, so I wanted to get it out as soon as possible. I'm also sorry if I left anything out because it's been a while since I looked at the story and I forget which holes needed to be closed.**

**Any questions as to my whereabouts and recent activity can be sent to me via review or message, and I promise I will give you guys some answers to the best of my ability. For now, I hope you enjoyed this sweet little fluffy chapter.**

**-biteoutoflife-**


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